Alternative
by Fangirl Forevz
Summary: What if Bruce Wayne wasn't able to adopt Richard Grayson as his ward, because the boy was kidnapped by Cadmus before he had the chance? When KF and Aqualad bust Superboy out, they also meet a cheerful boy who doesn't remember anything from before his time with Cadmus. Add Batman to the equation, who has been searching for Richard Grayson since his disappearance...Read on for more.
1. It Begins

**AN: I do not own Young Justice, or any of these characters. If I did, the story would be very different. Warning, this chapter is mostly just references to episode one. But, the rest of my story will be quite different. Just hang in there**.

xXx

"I can't believe that my mentor, my king, does not trust me. What else have they been hiding from us?"

Kid Flash huffed. The two sidekicks were standing in the library of the fake Justice Hall, both of them looking sour. Neither of them appreciated that there were secrets being kept from them, and the two of them were starting to think that they should've left with Speedy. "Well, maybe if we solve their case, they'll trust us more!"

Aqualad looked unsure. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

The speedster rolled his eyes. "It's just a fire- we can handle it. All we have to do is a bit of detective work while we're there. No biggie."

"But what if we discover something important?"

"Then we come back and report what we found to the League. They'll finally know that we can do things without them!" At the Atlantian's uneasy look, Wally sighed. "Do you honestly want to be treated like a kid? Not just a kid, but a sidekick?"

Anger sparked in the older teen's eyes. "No," he said sternly, "but how are we going to investigate? We don't even know where project Cadmus is."

Wally waved a dismissive hand. "I have that covered. I caught a glimpse of the news, and I know exactly where to go!"

xXx

"Look out!"

Wally dragged his friend out of the way just as one of the giant creatures attempted to squash him. The two of them had snuck into Cadmus, and the speedster noticed as they were snooping around that an alien-like creature was escaping through one of the elevators. Aqualad had agreed that it was more than a little suspicious, and had wrenched the elevator doors open with his Atlantian strength. What they discovered next was a huge puzzlement to them both.

"What are they?" Aqualad whispered as they watched the creatures stomp away.

"I have no idea." He looked a little worried. "I guess this is what Cadmus was hiding."

"That seems to be the case. Maybe we should contact the League."

Kid Flash elbowed him at the suggestion. "No way! Let's go a little farther and see what else they have down here. If we call the League now, they'll get all the credit!"

Aqualad ran a hand over his face and nodded. "Fine. But we're only staying here a little longer."

"Whatever you say."

The two not-sidekicks continued to roam around the vast hideout, avoiding the strange monsters as they went. Even though they stayed as quiet as they could, they were eventually found by Guardian and a squad of G-Gnomes. KF hissed in pain as one of the bigger ones threw him onto the ground, and quickly backed away from the group of monsters. "Wait...Guardian?"

Aqualad frowned. "I know you. You're a hero."

"I do my best. Now, let's call the Justice League. I'm sure we can work something out."

"The League won't approve of you breeding weapons!"

"Weapons?" A strange look passed over Guardian's face, and the horns of the creature on his shoulder glowed. The puzzled look soon morphed into one of fury. "Take them down!"

Kid Flash gulped and grabbed his friend by the arm, dragging him away from the fight and towards the elevator. "I think we should retreat."

"I agree," the Atlantian mumbled as they entered the elevator. The doors closed just as their enemies came forward. "Shouldn't we have been locked out?"

"Maybe their security really sucks." A shrug. "I'm not complaining."

The Atlantian winced as the monsters pounded on the door relentlessly. "Where should we go?"

"Let's get out of here, duh!"

Aqualad seemed uncertain. "I fear that Cadmus is hiding something much bigger downstairs. I don't know why...but I feel as though we should go down."

Wally hesitantly nodded. He could somewhat understand what his friend was talking about. One should never ignore their hero instincts, after all. "So, where are we going?"

A pause. "Sub-level fifty two."

"Why there?" After another loud bang on the door, Wally sighed. "Never mind. Let's just go."

The elder boy nodded and quickly pressed the button that would lead them to their destination. In no time at all, the two teens found themselves standing in a creepy red room, with two distinct paths waiting for them. "Which way..." Aqualad said out loud, getting a shrug in response.

"Halt," someone commanded, and another strange creature stepped out of the shadows. KF and Aqualad simply glanced at each other before sprinting into the closest hallway, avoiding the technology that was thrown at them as they went. As they approached the large metal doors, they suddenly slid open, and a young woman stepped out. Not waiting any time, Kid Flash sped up and grabbed the closest object to him, using it to keep the door open. "Hurry!"

Aqualad grunted in response as he increased his speed, jumping through the gap in a few seconds. As he turned around he spotted Guardian and his G-Gnomes running towards them, and swiftly pulled the canister out from between the two sides of the door, allowing the doors to close. As soon as the entryway was shut, a strange click sounded, as if it was being locked shut. Aqualad furrowed his brow in confusion. "How did you lock it?"

Kid Flash blinked. "I didn't. Maybe it was just a glitch?"

"Right..." the Atlantian suddenly turned his gaze to the pod in the middle of the room and frowned. "What is that?"

The other boy followed his gaze and mimicked the frown before stepping forward to the control panel. After a few seconds of studying it, he pressed one of the rectangular buttons that let the tube light up. A gasp escaped his lips as the light revealed that a teen boy, baring an eery resemblance to Superman, stood inside with his eyes shut. Wally swallowed as he ditched the panel in favour of moving closer to the sleeping boy. "Big K, little r. The atomic symbol for Kripton!"

Aqualad moved to stand beside his friend. "This is wrong. What is he? A clone?"

"I took you might be right..." KF frowned. "Those creatures sitting with him seem to be telepathic. You saw the way they took control over Guardian. Whatever these guys are telling this dude, it can't be good."

Aqualad looked worried. "Now, we contact the League," he said as he brought his hand down to the symbol on his belt. The symbol glowed at his touch, but otherwise, didn't give the Atlantian any response. "No signal."

"We're in too deep...literally." the two of them heard the muffled noise of angry voices from the other side of the door. In response to this, the creatures with the clone made their horns glow. "This is wrong...We need to let him out."

The other boy nodded in agreement, but wished that they had some sort of technological genius to assist them. This whole assignment would've gone a lot smoother if they did. As if sensing his thoughts, the sound of a child's laughter cut through the air, and both of the young heroes stared in confusion as the front of the pod sprung open with a hiss.

"How did you do that?" Kid Flash asked, startled.

"I didn't..."

The clone's fingers twitched slightly before curling into a fist, bones cracking. The Atlantian narrowed his eyes as he watched the G-Gnomes's horns glow once more. Superboy's eyes suddenly opened and before anyone could say anything, the clone had Aqualad pinned to the ground. Superboy immediately launched into a series of punches on the other boy's face, until KF rushed forward and grabbed his arm. "Woah! Take it easy! We're on your side!"

Superboy merely elbowed the speedster in the face, who went flying backwards and landed in a heap. While the clone was distracted, the Atlantian slammed his foot into the boy's face and rolled away from him, climbing back up to his feet. As the clone steadied himself, the Atlantian summoned up a giant electric hammer and used it to send Superboy flying towards his abandoned pod. The clone quickly picked himself back up and calmly walked back towards his opponent.

"We are trying to help you," Kaldur said angrily, holding up a hand as if saying 'stop.' The other boy ignored him and tried to land a punch on him, but it was avoided. The Atlantian quickly moved behind his opponent and pulled both of his arms backwards as he sent a current of electricity towards him. Superboy howled in pain and jumped up high, slamming the other boy into the ceiling before coming back down. When the Atlantian's grip didn't falter, the clone repeated his actions, this time sending the boy into the depths of unconsciousness.

xXx

"Ung..." Wally forced his eyes open and was alarmed when he realized that he couldn't move. As his eyes adjusted to the strange lighting, he realized why. He was in some sort of pod, with his arms being restrained. A quick glance to the side revealed that his friend was in the same predicament, looking as though he had woken up minutes ago. He was looking at something intently, and Wally followed his face to Superboy. Great, just great. He was starting to really dislike this guy. "We freed you, and you turned on us! How's that for gratitude?!"

"KF, please," Aqualad said softly. "I believe that our new friend was not in full control of his actions." The speedster thought about these words and resisted the urge to sigh. He was irritated, but he could not blame the clone for what happened. If he was in Superboy's shoes, he'd be as confused as hell.

"What if I-" the clone paused. "What if I wasn't?"

Wally blinked in shock. "He can talk?"

The clone's hands balled into fists, and he was about to make an angry retort when the sound of a child's laughter cut through the air once more. "Of course he can! Did you think Cadmus would create an idiot?"

Superboy stiffened. "Show yourself!"

"Sure thing!" A young boy with raven black hair and a strange mask over his eyes suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing a few feet away from Superboy with a grin. The boy was wearing all black, the front of his shirt having a red R printed on it. "Hey, Supes."

The other boy growled and rose a threatening fist, but Kaldur spoke up. "Wait, I heard you before...You were the one that told me what floor to go to. I also heard you laughing while we were trying to get Superboy. You helped us."

The young boy smiled smugly. "I'm glad you figured it out." He turned to look at the clone with a more serious expression. "Look, these guys can help you. They can help you see the real world."

Wally blinked at the sudden subject change, but decided to go with it. "You haven't seen the world outside of this place?"

"Images are planted into my mind, but no."

Aqualad frowned. "Do you know what you are? Who you are?"

The blue eyed boy's expression didn't change. "I am the Superboy, a Genomorph; a clone made from the DNA from the Superman, created to replace him should he perish. To destroy him should he turn from the Light."

The young heroes sh ared a look, and Kaldur spoke up once more. "To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration. But like Superman, you deserve a life of your own. Beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus."

"I live because of Cadmus!" Superboy said angrily. "It is my home!"

The raven haired child shook his head. "Your home is a test tube. Don't you think that you deserve better than this? These guys can actually show you the sun!"

"Pretty sure that it's after dark..." Wally pointed out. "But we can show you the moon."

"We can introduce you to Superman." Kaldur said softly, almost smiling at the amazed look that his words received.

"No." Someone said, causing everyone to look in that direction. "They can't." Two people in lab coats, as well as Guardian, walked into the room. "They'll be otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process." The only woman in the room nodded and walked closer to the teens, while the unnamed man glared at Guardian. "And get the weapon back in its pod! As for you, Renegade," he turned to the raven haired boy. "You're going to regret trying to help these intruders."

While Guardian stepped forward and put a hand on Superboy's shoulder, the leading scientist pulled a small remote out of his lab coat and pressed a red button. The boy, Renegade, suddenly cried out as waves of electricity coursed through his body. Kaldur inhaled sharply at the sight of his new acquaintance being hurt, and looked at Superboy. "Help us."

The clone frowned and pulled out of Guardian's grip. The head scientist noticed this and walked over to the two, ignoring the howling teen on the ground. "Don't start thinking now." The G-Gnome on his shoulder leapt away and landed on Superboy, horns glowing. A dazed look crossed over the teen's features. "See, your not a real boy, you're a weapon. And you belong to me, and so does he!" He said this as he pressed the button on the remote again, silencing Renegade's cries. He paused. "Well, to Cadmus. Same thing. Now get back to your pod!"

Superboy immediately turned away and walked through the exit without another word. The scientist watched him leave before turning to look at the female, giving her a small nod. The woman responded by hitting a few buttons on the control panel, which caused robotic devices to spring forward, shooting out tendrils of electricity at the two trapped boys.

"Stop!" Renegade demanded as he sat up.

"It looks like you haven't learned your lesson." The man said as he hit the button once more. Soon, the cries of the two heroes were joined by the screams of the young boy, the electricity being used on him being far more powerful than what the other two had. "Where's Dubbilex?" The man asked suddenly, and a taller looking creature stepped out of the shadows. "Hmph. Lurking as usual. Get the G-Gnomes downloading their memories. When that's done, delete the source material." He looked down at Renegade. "And as for project R, another few days of solitary confinement should do the trick."

Wally, having to have heard all of this, looked up sharply, unable to contain his anger. Kaldur closed his eyes tightly as he endured the pain. Suddenly, he had an idea. Superman had super hearing, right? Maybe that meant... "Superboy," he whispered. "You live. That gives you the right to follow your own path. A weapon, or a person. The choice is yours. But ask yourself: what would Superman do?"

A few seconds passed, and Kaldur briefly feared that he was not heard. However, the banging noise on the door was enough to prove him wrong, as the metal was pulled away to reveal the clone. The shocks that were administered to the heroes suddenly stopped, and Aqualad sighed in relief. However, the young Renegade was still on the ground, groaning in pain.

"I told you to get back to your-" the scientist was silenced as the clone shoved everyone away from him forcefully. While the man was dazed, Superboy bent down and snatched the remote out of his hands, crushing it. Immediately, the boy's cries were silenced and replaced by ragged breaths.

"T-thanks," Renegade mumbled as he stood up.

"So, you gonna help us, or fry us?" Wally asked.

Superboy stared at the hero for a moment. "Huh. I don't seem to have heat vision, so I suppose helping is my only option."

Renegade moved his gloved hands and a lock picking tool came out of his pointer finger. He blinked his eyes warily before speaking. "Free Aqualad. I'll get Flash Junior."

"Don't you give me orders either," the clone growled, but complied.

"Yeah, and it's Kid Flash! Sheesh." The speedster grumbled as the kid used the device to remove his restraints, while Superboy simply crushed Kaldur's.

The Atlantian smiled as the clone steadied him "Thank you." He said. The other boy simply nodded in response before moving to let him jump out, Wally doing the same. The four of them shared a look before sprinting out, ignoring the angry words that were shouted at them.

The teens ran through the darkened hallways, aiming their course for the elevator. However, a couple of the bigger creatures jumped into their path and as they turned around, more sprung out of their strange pods. The teens rushed past the monsters with the exception of Superboy, who shoved his way right through them. It wasn't long after that when they reached the elevator, and Kaldur yanked the doors open forcefully. Renegade barely paused as he whipped out a grappling hook from his belt and used it to fly upwards. Superboy grabbed onto Aqualad and used his own legs to launch himself into the air, face pinching in utter confusion when he started to fall. Renegade noticed their descent and threw a dagger into the wall near them, which Aqualad quickly latched onto. "Superman can fly..." The clone looked devastated. "Why can't I fly?"

"That's something to worry about later. This will have to be our exit." Renegade pointed up at the descending elevator. Superboy and Aqualad both nodded and pushed the elevator doors open. As the four of them filed into the room, they barely had time to catch their breath as more creatures gave chase to them, making them run.

 _'Turn left brother.'_ A voice spoke in the clone's head. Superboy hesitated before speaking, "Go left!" The others automatically obeyed. "Right," he ordered, right after the voice spoke again.

It was a dead end.

"Great directions, Supey." KF said sarcastically.

"I...I don't understand."

Renegade grinned as he stopped next to them. "Perfect!" He exclaimed as he jumped into the air and grabbed the cover of the air vent, pulling it off before crawling inside. The other teens shared a look before following.

"At this rate, we're never getting out of here." Wally complained.

"Shh." Superboy said suddenly, causing the others to pause. Then, they heard the sound of multiple creatures crawling after them. Renegade sighed and kicked open another exit before promptly escaping, the other closely behind. The boy then carefully fit the cover back into place and closed his eyes as if he were in a trance.

"What are you doing?" Kaldur whispered harshly.

"It's hard to explain. Just know that my mind is literally connected to Cadmus's security systems." A grin worked its way to his face and he opened his eyes, looking triumphant. "I hacked the motion sensors."

"Sweet!" Wally said cheerfully. "Now I finally have room to move!" With that, the speedster threw the nearest door open and run up the stairs with his speedy ability. On the way up, he purposely ran into the incoming Genomorphs, making them collapse on the ground. The other boys were not too far behind. At a certain point, Superboy kicked a section of the stairs which disconnected it so that they wouldn't be followed. As soon as the teens exited the staircase, the door leading to freedom slammed shut.

"This way." Renegade led the boys into a nearby room just as a few of the giant creatures approached them from behind. However, as soon as they stepped inside, they were surrounded by G-Gnomes on all sides, as well as a blank faced Guardian. The teen boys all shifted into their battle stances, ready to fight their way out. Sadly, the horned G-Gnomes used their telepathic ability to force them all onto the floor before they could try anything.

 _'Perhaps for the sake of all Genomorphs, our brother Superboy should make up his own mind.' A voice cut into the clone's thoughts as the taller creature from earlier stepped into the room._

'It was you.'

 _'Yes, brother. I set the fire that lured your new friends down into Cadmus, woke them when they were in danger, -'_

 _'And guided me. Why?' Superboy frowned. 'And what about Renegade?'_

 _'I was also the one to awaken the young experiment. You needed Renegade's assistance.'_ The thing stated. _'And I guided you because you are our hope- the Genomorph hero. You will blaze a trail for all of our brothers, showing us the way to freedom.'_ The glowing finally stopped, and the teens slowly picked themselves up, including Superboy. _'What is your choice, brother?'_

"I. Choose. Freedom." The clone said out loud. Dubbilex's lips twitched upwards at this decision.

"Feels like fog...lifting..." Guardian lowered his hand from his head and have the teenagers a determined look. "Go. I'll deal with Desmond."

"I think not."

xXx (Skipping the fight because I'm not changing anything here) xXx

The boys crawled out of the rubble that used to be the Cadmus building. The teens were all breathless, but were quick to check each other over to make sure that no one had any serious injuries. "We...did it." Kaldur said, awed.

"I didn't ever doubt it." Renegade countered. Wally grinned at him and gave him a high five, which resulted in the two of them groaning in newfound pain.

Superboy ignored them and walked over to the fallen form of Desmond, who was pinned under a giant piece of rubble. "See?" Kid asked, making the clone turn around. "The moon."

Superboy gazed at the sky in compete awe, Renegade matching his expression. "Wow," the shortest boy breathed. "I almost forgot what it looked like."

Before Kaldur could question his meaning, the distant figure of Superman appeared in the sky. Wally grinned and stood next to the clone. "And it's Superman! Do we keep our promises or what?"

Superboy's eyes shone as he watched the Justice League members touch down on the ground. The two sidekicks in the group glanced at the gathered heroes, feeling somewhat nervous about what the outcome of this meeting would be. Renegade's face was unreadable as the boy took a couple of steps backwards, hiding in the shadows. As Superman stared at the teenagers, Superboy walked forward and showed him the S-shaped emblem on his shirt. A look of utter disbelief crossed over the Boy Scout's features while his clone gazed at him patiently. A second passed, and stern look replaced the startled one, making Superboy's face fall into a frown.

"Is that what I think it is?" A man in black suddenly appeared behind the Kryptonian.

"Um, he doesn't like being called an it." Wally said lowly.

The clone's face pinched in anger. "I'm Superman's clone," he said loudly, causing the other League members to look at each other in shock. The not so subtle disturbed looks that he received seemed to only irritate the clone boy further, not that his friends could blame him.

The man in black suddenly looked at the boy in the shadows. "And him? Is he a clone too?" The other adults hid their surprise, as they apparently didn't notice the child before.

Wally frowned. "We're not too certain about that ourselves..." and suddenly, all eyes were on the boy hiding in the dark.

The masked boy cleared his throat as he stepped into the light. "I am project R, though the scientists sometimes call me Renegade." He shrugged. "And no, I'm not a clone. I'm a regular human kid that Cadmus has been experimenting on for years."

The man in black narrowed his eyes at this information and looked at the two sidekicks. "Start talking," he ordered.

The teens launched into an explanation, every single one of them contributing to the story. Batman stayed silent through the entire thing, only looking mildly impressed when he was told about Renegade's master hacking skills. Afterwards, the League stepped away from the teens and proceeded to talk amongst themselves. A few minutes later, Batman returned. As he approached, the boys noticed that some of the League members were leaving. "Cadmus will be investigated. All fifty two stories." The Dark Knight stated, the Flash and Aquaman at his sides. "But let's make one thing clear-"

"You should've called." The Flash said, ignoring the look that the Bat gave him for the interruption.

"End results aside, we are not happy." Batman declared. "You disobeyed direct orders and endangered lives. You will not be doing this again."

The teens quickly voiced their disagreement, Aqualad and Kid Flash pointing out how they were trained to handle these things. Their mentors looked slightly annoyed at the argument used against them.

"If this is about your treatment earlier, the two of you-"

"The four of us," KF corrected. "And it's not."

"Look, Batman," Renegade said, stepping forward. The other adults gave the young boy a sharp look, knowing that the Dark Knight hated disrespect. Who did this kid think he was? "You look like the man in charge. You and I both know that we're perfectly capable of doing this."

Batman glared at the boy, but Renegade met his gaze head on. They continued this staring contest for what felt like several hours before Batman finally looked at his teammates, a small smile gracing his face. The other two glanced at each other in surprise, knowing that the sight of the Dark Knight smiling was one of the rarest things in the universe, especially since a couple of years ago, after 'the Incident.'

"It's simple." Superboy said as he stood next to Renegade. "Get on board, or get out of the way."

The other teens nodded in agreement and stared at the adults, waiting. The League members shared a look, and Batman narrowed his eyes slightly as he took everything into consideration.

xXx

The boys watched as several members of the League cleared out the cave that they were standing in. "The cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League." Batman explained. "We're calling it into service again. Since you four are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms. Red Tornado has volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary has agreed to assist with training. _I_ will deploy you on missions."

"Real missions?" Kid Flash asked.

"Yes, but convert."

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff." Flash said, grinning almost mischievously.

"Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter." Aquaman stated. "Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly."

Batman acknowledged this with a look. "The five of you will be that team."

"Cool!" Renegade grinned. He was the only one of the kids that kept his mask on, saying that it would hurt to take it off after having it on so long. When someone asked how long he wore it, a distant look fell onto his face, and the subject was dropped. "Wait...five?"

That's when the team met Miss Martian, who smiled shyly at the four of them. KF grinned and stepped towards her. "Hi, I'm Kid Flash! That's Renegade, Aqualad. It's cool if you forget their names."

The boys soon gathered around their new teammate, properly introducing themselves to the young girl. In response to their friendliness, she smiled and chatted with them, losing her shyness almost instantly. As the group of young heroes got to know each other, Martian Manhunter walked away from his niece and joined his fellow League Members.

"What's up with you, Bats?" Flash said quietly so that the kids wouldn't hear him. "Was I imagining things or were you smiling just a second ago? You did that earlier, too!"

The other two looked equally curious, and Batman shrugged indifferently, a smirk forming on his face. "I was just thinking, maybe it's about time I get my own protege."

The Flash's eyes went wide. "You're kidding, right?" After the vigilante shook his head, the speedster looked at the teens and almost immediately let his eyes fall onto the form of the young Renegade. "What's so special about him?"

Another shrug. "I see potential in him." He also watched the teens. "And I think I know him from somewhere."

Martian Manhunter looked a little uneasy about this, as did Aquaman, who spoke, "If this is about that kid..."

Anger flashed through the vigilante's eyes. "He's not just some kid." He snapped, and the teens looks over at the adults curiously.

"I didn't mean-"

"We'll talk later." The man said briskly, before turning around and walked through a zeta tube, disappearing in a flash of light and leaving behind a room full of confused teenagers along with sympathetic adults.

xXx

 **Whew. Finally finished the first chapter to my very first Young Justice story. And since I'm writing a Teen Titan story as well, I'm probably going to be hooked on the idea of super heroes for a while.**

 **Anyways, you know the drill, my dear readers. Tell me what you think! I would love some feedback, even if it's harsh criticism. It's your opinions that make my writing better! :)**


	2. Forgettable Identity

**AN: Did you guys know that you're all awesome? You really are! I loved the response I got. It gave me such a confidence boost.**

 **Thank yous go to each and every one of you who have taken time out of your day to review. You all rock!**

 **Oh, and to shattered rainbow specifically, I like the concept of Renegade, but I noticed that the idea has been used far too frequently for my liking. Therefore, I created this fic in response. Instead of Robin becoming Renegade, it's the other way around. I thought it was clever and I'm glad you agree!**

 **Also, I received an anon review, but it confused me greatly. Perhaps you just wanted to rant about something and decided to do so on my story, for whatever reason? I do not understand what the purpose of your review was, so I would appreciate it if you made yourself clearer. :)**

 **Sorry for the long AN! I had this chapter written before I posted the first one, but I had to check it over for any stupid mistakes. Thanks for being patient with me. This chapter is based on episode three, which doesn't belong to me in any way. Enjoy!**

xXx

Renegade grimaced as the dark knight paced back and forth in front of him, looking agitated. The man had returned to the cave a few days after his previous tantrum and almost immediately demanded to speak to Renegade alone. The young boy didn't even get the chance to protest as he was dragged away from his new teammates and forced into what looked like an interrogation room. There, he was seated at a table.

"Okay, everyone except you has had a background check. Superboy has the excuse of just being born, but you have no reason to hold a secret identity."

Renegade blinked. "I don't know _your_ secret identity." That fact has always bugged him a little. During the past few days, the man had only spent small periods of time at the cave. Even though Batman spent most of that time giving the boy advice and gifting him with a few tools, Renegade was a little annoyed that he knew almost nothing about him.

The man sighed impatiently. "That's different. I am a member of the Justice League. It would endanger everyone's lives if I were to share my identity with anyone, especially with those who are associated with Cadmus."

The boy winced at these words. While he did not appreciate being compared to the people that he was imprisoned by, he could understand why there was any distrust towards him. For all anyone knew, he was a spy sent there to dig up the League's secrets. He truthfully didn't know if there was any programming deep within his mind that could endanger anyone. He would have to work extra hard in order to become a trusted member of this team.

"I get it. What do you want to know?"

"For starters, what's your real name?"

Renegade closed his eyes. Of course, Batman just had to start off with the bad questions. "I don't know."

The man didn't seem to believe this, which is again understandable. "You don't know? How do you not know your own name?"

"Look, Cadmus had me locked up by myself for years. During that time, I barely know what was done to me. I think they might've messed with my head so that I had to rely on them."

Batman stopped pacing and glanced at the boy. "Memories cannot be fully erased, but they can be suppressed. If you concentrate, you can piece together what your life was before Cadmus."

Renegade looked down. "I can't..."

"Humor me."

"Fine. But don't be disappointed." The boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he concentrated. He had a name, he knew it. He had that feeling that you get when you're trying to remember a dream. His name was right there, right in front of him, yet he couldn't grasp it.

 _Circus..._

 _Screaming..._

 _Police..._

Pain shot through the boy's head and he cried out as he toppled over. Batman darted over to his side and steadied him by grabbing his shoulders. As soon as Renegade was sitting up, he buried his face in his own hands and groaned. "Ow..."

"What happened?" The man's voice still had its usually gruffness, but there was a tint of concern somewhere in there. Or maybe he was imagining it?

"I don't know. It was too painful." He didn't mention the vague images that he saw. That felt personal to him for some reason.

Batman nodded. "Cadmus must've made it so that you can't remember anything without experiencing discomfort."

"Discomfort? That felt like someone threw a brick at me!"

That statement went ignored. "Until we can find a way to reverse what was done to you, you'll have to deal with it yourself. I can do a DNA test, but there's a strong possibility that they altered your DNA as well."

Renegade nodded. "Dubblex said that they did experiments on my DNA when I first arrived. I'd rather take the test anyways, just to be sure."

"I was going to do it whether you wanted to or not." The man said truthfully. "But, let's skip over your name and go through other basic questions. Do you know how old you are?"

"I think that I'm thirteen..."

"Okay. Birthday?"

"I don't know..."

A nod. "I thought so. Where were you born?"

Renegade frowned. "I don't know."

"Right. Cadmus has suppressed your memories of any information that can link you to your civilian identity. Let's see, do you know where your parents are?"

The boy hesitated. "I think that they died."

Batman paused, an unidentified emotion flickering across his masked eyes. "We can't be sure about that, but it's noted. Okay, let's take a different approach. What is project R?"

The response was immediate. "Project R, or Renegade, is an experiment to see the effects of newly created drugs on human children compared to those of adults."

"Drugs?" The vigilante scowled. "They've been using you for drugs? Is that why you can't remember how long you've been there?"

Renegade nodded. "Yeah. That, and because I was never allowed outside. Whenever I wasn't on some weird drug, I was put into solitary confinement so that they could see the psychological effects of prolonged periods of solitude."

The effect that his explanation had produced was something that was a bit unexpected. The usually stoic man in front of him had anger written across his masked face, and had his fingers curled into fists at his sides. "Anything else?"

"Uhh...Lately, they've been letting me out of my pod more often. They took me off of the drugs and started to physically train me. Apparently, my ability to not let my will be broken, even under extreme circumstances, attracted attention from someone. I was supposed to be sold to that person in a month to become their soldier...or something."

Batman stared at him for a long moment, causing the boy to fidget in his seat. "Sold? Like some sort of animal?"

A shrug. "I am property of Cadmus. If they want to sell me, they can. How was I supposed to stop them?" He looked uncertain. "You...you won't give me back, will you?"

"Of course not. And you are not property of Cadmus. Like Superboy, you are your own person. What you do with your life is up to you."

The boy sighed in relief. "Okay."

Batman frowned. "Why did you think that I would give you back to Cadmus? All of the genomorphs are free now, and the human experiments are being treated as we speak. You won't ever need to go back."

Renegade looked down. "During the first few days with Cadmus, I was told that I would be handed back to them if I ever escaped. They said that I was unwanted on this planet and that I was better off being with them. I believed it for a while..."

The man narrowed his eyes. "You are not unwanted on this planet. What was done to you was wrong, and we only regret that we couldn't get you out any sooner. Understood?" At the boy's nod, he continued, "One last question, and I'll let you go."

"Okay."

"How did you hack into Cadmus? Aqualad said that you were able to do it just by closing your eyes."

"Oh, that." He shifted a little in his seat. "Every experiment of Cadmus is given an electronic chip which is installed in their brains after a surgery. While I was in solitary confinement I figured out how to mentally connect myself to the chip and get into Cadmus files. It was then that I realized what was happening to me was wrong. I was able to see the outside world by using their computer, and I quickly found out what kidnapping meant." He smiled sadly. "I think the reason Dubbilex chose me to help Superboy was because I was able to hack into security, which was helpful. They team would've had problems getting out otherwise...And he also might've chosen be because I had a better understanding of the outside world than the other experiments."

Batman nodded briskly. "Thank you. That's all I needed to know." Before he was able to leave the boy called his name. He rose a brow as he watched the child fidget some more. The boy needed to work on his confidence, that was for sure.

"I have a question of my own. Why are you letting me be on this team? I could be a danger to everyone."

"Do you want to hurt anyone?"

"Well...no, but-"

"Then I don't see why I can't trust you. I can tell that you haven't been lying. Martian Manhunter has been standing outside the entire time. If he ever felt you say a lie or feel any ill intent from you, he would have stepped in and alerted me."

A blink. "This was a test."

"Yes. Not only did I want information but I needed to see if you could be trusted. You passed." He started to walk away. "Well, we'll make sure to watch out for any signs of withdrawal or addiction. Other than that, you're in the clear. Goodnight, Renegade."

The man glanced back as he left the room, nearly missing the hopeful smile that was sent towards him.

xXx (The Next Day) xXx

"My cookies!" Renegade heard Miss Martian exclaim as he edged closer to the kitchen. He paused in his steps. Cookies? Since when did they have any cookies?

As he walked into the room, he heard Kid Flash say, "I have a serious metabolism." before he actually caught sight of his new teammates, who were gathered around a tray of blackened cookies. Renegade snickered silently as he watched the speedster stuff his face with more of the sweets.

"I'll...make more?" Miss M sounded confused. Of course she was; who ever heard of someone who likes burnt food?

"It was sweet of you to make any."

"Thanks Aqualad."

"We're not on the job, so you may call me Kaldur."

"I'm Wally." KF said after swallowing another mouthful of cookie. "See, I already trust you with my secret ID. Unlike Mr. 'I'm going to wear a mask all the time,' over here."

The others followed Wally's gaze and waved to Renegade in greeting. The masked boy folded his arms over his chest and was about to explain, for the millionth time, why he couldn't take his mask off, but was interrupted by Miss Martian.

"My name's no secret. It's M'gann M'orzz, but you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now."

The talk about civilian names made Renegade uncomfortable. He wished that he even had an identity to protect, but he was left with nothing but an empty memory. Apparently, Superboy felt the same thing because he soon turned away to leave the room. Renegade started to follow him when the clone suddenly looked furious. "Get out of my head!"

The other teens frowned and turned to look at M'gann, who looked equally confused. Renegade understood his friend's anger when a voice suddenly invited itself into his head. _/What's wrong? I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically._

Renegade groaned and grabbed a fistful of his own hair. If he knew that this chick was going to barge into his thoughts, he would have put up his mental defenses! How can any living species live with some random voice in their head? Not only was it creepy, but it brought his mind back to the past...and those were not memories that he needed in his life anymore.

"M'gann, stop." Kaldur said sternly. "Things are different on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"No kidding." Renegade scowled, straightening his back to make himself look more intimidating. If Batman didn't let himself look weak, Renegade would do the same.

"Besides, Cadmus's creepy little psychic Genomorphs left a bad taste in their brains." Wally gestured to the two escaped experiments.

"I-I didn't mean to-"

"Just. Stay. Out." Superboy said forcefully as he left.

M'gann looked upset for a few seconds, but quickly perked up and flew out of the room, signaling for the others to follow. Renegade swallowed back his previous anger and joined his teammates. It was natural for the Martian to not be used to Earth's customs. Hell, Renegade and Superboy were still new to everything. He would give the alien some slack, as long as she never forced herself into his mind again. Wally was right- Cadmus left a bad taste in his mind, but that didn't mean that he had to lash out on anyone with telepathic powers.

"It's my Martian bioship." The girl explained as they entered the new room. On a platform in the center of the room rested a pod-like object. Renegade frowned as he studied the thing, curious to how it operated. On Earth, airplanes required wings in order to properly fly. How did this thing work?

"Cute. Not aerodynamic, but cute." Wally commented, apparently on the same mind track as the masked boy.

Renegade narrowed his eyes as he racked his brain for any information on the ship in front of him, determined to figure this thing out on his own. For some odd reason, Cadmus included several odd bits of data into his programming. One of the strangest things that he learned was Martian culture and technology. "It's at rest." He mumbled, gaining a couple of confused looks.

M'gann simply beamed. "Right!" She waved one her hands to awaken it and repeated the gesture to open the hatch that led inside. "Come on!"

The teens climbed aboard, greeted by a couple of chairs that seemed to appear right before their eyes. Renegade shared a grin with Wally and sat down in one of the nearest seats. Curiosity morphed into alarm when the chair wrapped straps around his torso by itself. He was automatically reminded of the days when he was strapped down onto a table, waiting for another drug trial...

"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors." M'gann said, snapping Renegade out of his unwelcome memories. The girl brought her hands up to the newly formed glowing orbs and used them to bring the ship into the air.

"Incredible." Renegade said, forcing a grin to his face.

"She sure is-" Wally started.

"Anyways," Renegade interrupted, not wanting to hear his friend's failed attempts at flirting. "How did things with Speedy go?"

Kaldur frowned. "Not very well. Speedy refused to join the team and stated that the League is only allowing us to be on this team so that we can 'keep busy.'"

"I really want to meet this guy." The masked boy muttered. "He sounds like a ray of sunshine."

Wally rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, but how did things go with Batman?"

"Not so well..."

M'gann looked at the boy in concern. "What happened?"

A sigh. "He wasn't being a jerk to me," he reassured. "I just can't remember anything before Cadmus. My name, my parents, my birthday...everything is completely gone."

Kaldur nodded sympathetically. "I am sorry. If there is any way that we can help you, you only need to ask." The others nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, guys." A few minutes passed and Renegade noticed M'gann was looking at Superboy with a sad expression. "He'll come around."

"He doesn't seem to like me much."

"You guys realize that he has super hearing, right?"

A feeling of awkwardness rose into the air. Teenage drama was not what Renegade wanted to deal with, so he quickly changed the subject, going off of the information on Martians that he had. "Hey, how about a little Martian shape-shifting?"

M'gann shot him a grateful smile before standing, the two boys sitting in front turning around to watch. In mere seconds, the girl's outfit transformed into an almost all black uniform, a bloody red 'R' forming on her torso. Her skin color changed into a pale white, her hair shortened and turned black, and a domino mask fit over her face perfectly. The only difference between her and Renegade was that M'gann still had the obvious parts that showed her gender. Seconds later, his form was replaced by a female version of Kid Flash.

"Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?"

Renegade ignored the comment and clapped enthusiastically. "Impressive! But, you know that you're not going to exactly fool anyone with those?"

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder..."

"Can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?" Wally asked.

"Density shifting? No...It's a very advanced technique."

Renegade saw the crestfallen look on her face and ran a search through his memory for something to cheer her up. Suddenly, information on Kid Flash came to him. "The Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall." He snickered as he continued, "Junior over here can't even try it without getting a bloody nose!"

"Dude!" Wally said, embarrassed. "How do you even know that?!"

The boy shrugged and promptly changed the subject. "Hey, does this thing have some sort of camouflage mode?"

"You bet!" Miss M replied and made the ship go invisible with another wave of her hand. No one noticed that Renegade changed the subject, thankfully. How does one explain how they know tidbits of information about everyone in the League, including the sidekicks? That wouldn't get him more trust, he knew. They would again assume that he was only in the team to gather more information. Being a Cadmus experiment was hard.

 _'Red Tornado to Miss Martian,'_ a metallic voice sounded _. 'An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor power plant. I suggest you investigate, covertly. I'm sending coordinates.'_

"Received. Adjusting course."

"Tornado's just keeping us busy." Wally said sourly. Renegade rose his eyebrows in response. Did Speedy's words really affect the team that much?

The ship moved to land in the parking lot just outside of the power plant. "Well, a simple fire led you to Superboy and Renegade." M'gann pointed out. "We should see what triggered the alert."

"I think I know the cause." Superboy said as he looked out the windows. The others followed his gaze and spotted an approaching tornado. Miss M attempted to steer the ship away from it but the twister managed to drag the ship into it. The teens shouted in alarm and struggled to get a grip on something while M'gann managed to successfully guide everyone away from the tornado. Renegade fought against his nausea as he unstrapped himself from his seat and followed the others to the exit. Outside, they were greeted by panicking civilians.

Renegade wasted no time and used his grappling hook to pull himself towards the building. A cackle managed to escape him as he flew through the air, a sense of freedom being ignited. It was about time they got some action! If he had to sit around for another day, he would surely become as crazy as the Joker.

Wait. How did he know who that was again?

The boy threw himself into one of the broken windows and landed in a crouch in front of someone who reminded him of a giant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. He was a bulky red and black creature with glowing blue tubes going through his body and connecting to two cannons at his hands.

"Sorry but this isn't Comic Con. Wrong place, pal." Renegade smirked.

Ninja Turtle dude didn't look amused. The robot thrusted his canons forward and shot high powered winds at the boy. Renegade didn't even have the change to put his hands up in defense before he was roughly thrown into a wall. As he sat up, Superboy jumped to his side. "Who's your new friend?"

The other boy scowled. "Didn't catch his name!" He was a little doubtful that this guy went by Ninja Turtle Dude. "He plays kinda rough." He warned.

"My apologies." A dark robotic voice said. Okay, so now he was Darth Vader? This guy needed to make up his mind. "You may address me as Mr. Twister." That was lame. Renegade liked Darth Vader more.

The teens shared a look, and Renegade got back to his feet, clutching his stomach. Being thrown into a wall was not what he had planned for the evening, truth be told. Mr. Twister was starting to get irritating, and no one needed to see Renegade's bad side.

Wally raced forward and jumped into the air to kick the villain, but was pushed to the side by strong winds. M'gann and Kaldur attempted to get close as well, but ended up achieving the same thing.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero. I was not, however, expecting children."

Renegade grit his teeth and threw a few explosive disks at the enemy, gifts from Batman himself. "We're not children!"

"Objectively, you are." Twister said as he simply flicked away one of the disks. "Have you no adult supervision? I find your presence here quite...disturbing."

"Well, we hate to see you disturbed. Let's see if you're more _turbed_ once we kick your can!" Ah, messing with the English language was fun. He enjoyed being able to twist it around to suit his conversational needs.

Superboy let out a battle cry and launched himself at Twister, aiming a punch. The robot was unaffected by the move and simply swatted the clone away with another gust of wind, sending him crashing into M'gann. Renegade and Aqualad both ran forward to launch attacks of their own, but were caught in twin twisters that sent them flying into each other.

"Indeed, that was quite turbing. Thank you." The Vader guy said sarcastically as he flew out the door. Renegade brushed away his pain and followed the others outside, where they were reunited with Wally. "I would've thought that you all would've learned your limitations by now." Twister commented.

"What do you want?!" Kaldur shouted.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a _real_ hero." Okay, that comment stung a little.

"Read his mind," Kaldur told M'gann, not turning around. "He has to have a weakness."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that!"

"It's okay with the bad guy!" Renegade exclaimed. He was ready to hurry up and finish this battle. If he was mocked one more time, he might lose his cool.

M'gann put a hand up to her head and closed her eyes. "I'm getting nothing." She suddenly smacked her own forehead. "Hello, Megan! Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise! He's inorganic- an android. And how many androids do you know that can generate tornadoes?"

Renegade frowned and looked at Mr. Twister again. While the explanation did make some sense, Renegade recognized that this guy's twisters didn't look anything like Red's tornadoes. But, how could he bring that up without raising suspicion? In everyone's minds, he only met Red Tornado a week ago. He shouldn't know how the android fights...

"Red Tornado sent us here after saying that we would be tested soon enough. This is his test." Kaldur did not look happy.

"This is just something to keep us busy." Wally narrowed his eyes. "Speedy called it. We're a joke."

Kaldur growled and stomped toward Twister, the others following closely behind. Renegade hesitated before going as well. Maybe everyone would figure it out before things got out of hand.

"Let's end this." Kaldur spat, still angry.

"Consider it ended." The android replied as he generated several tornadoes. The twisters all came together into one giant, terrifying vortex. Not good.

"An impressive show, but we will not indulge you. We will not engage!"

Storm clouds gathered in the skgy, and lighting flashed in a threatening manner. Suddenly looking unsure, Wally spoke, "Uh, can Red Tornado do that?"

'No,' Renegade mentally answered, feeling his panic rise.

"You think I'm Tornado. Ironic." Lightning struck at the ground in front of the heroes and the force of impact sent them flying backwards. Renegade briefly made contact with his old friend, Unconsciousness, and started to wake himself up just as Twister began to float away.

"...Happened?" He heard Wally ask.

"I placed the bioship between us." Miss M explained.

Superboy growled and punched a rock, which shattered into tiny pieces. "And that's supposed to make it right? You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado!"

"She didn't do it on purpose." Aqualad said calmly.

'But I did,' Renegade thought glumly. 'I should have said something. I'm so selfish.' Out loud, Renegade also came to her defense. "It was a rookie mistake. We shouldn't have listened."

"You are pretty inexperienced." KF agreed, a little awkwardly. "Hit the showers. We'll take it from here."

"Stay out of our way." Superboy said rudely, before taking off after Twister. Renegade swallowed down his guilt and followed, hoping to make it up to everyone by doing his best in the upcoming battle. It wasn't long until they found the android terrorizing civilians with his weather abilities. Renegade threw himself to the side to avoid a tornado and tossed an explosive disk at the android, but it was easily avoided.

The boy then ducked behind a good sized piece of rubble and hurried to take out his utility belt, another gift from Batman. He was soon joined by Wally, who scoffed at the sight of his equipment. "You brought your utility belt?" He asked as Renegade threw it over one of his shoulders and clipped it together with the other end that he wrapped around the opposite side of his torso.

"Never leave home without it. First thing that Batman taught me!"

Wally rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right after never go to the bathroom without it."

Renegade tried to not be offended at his friend's careless words. To him, it was an honor to get any sort of attention from anyone, especially the Dark Knight. Just the other day, Batman gave him better equipment, a utility belt, a few upgrades to his uniform, and several words of battle advice. At first, the boy was confused about the man's kindness. From what he learned from Cadmus it seemed as though Batman was supposed to be heartless. Renegade brushed it off, deciding that the man probably pitied him, or something along those lines.

 _/Listen to me, all of you./_ M'gann's voice said, taking over his thoughts.

"What did we tell you?" He heard Superboy shout.

 _/I know, and I know I messed up. But now I'm very clear on what we need to do. Please, trust me./_

It wasn't like they had a choice. All of the boys grudgingly listened to the girl's plan, and had to admit that it wasn't a bad idea. Besides, the way things were going, they would all be defeated in ten minutes at the most. They would try anything at this point.

Renegade watched as 'Red Tornado' flew towards them. "Hit the showers, boys." He said. "I was hoping that you can handle this. Clearly, you cannot."

The masked boy held back a smirk. "But we have a plan now." He whined.

"The subject is not up for debate."

Renegade forced himself to not laugh as he left the battlefield with the other boys. While the android was distracted, he threw himself into the shadows to watch, waiting for the signal. The two robots shared a few clipped words with each other before launching their attacks. Sooner than later, Twister was able to throw Tornado onto the ground and attempted to reprogram the fallen hero. It was then that M'gann revealed who she really was and pushed Twister into an incoming tornado, which was of course created by Wally.

The android stumbled away from the cyclone and tried to regain his footing, but was never given the chance because Superboy used that moment to land a series of punches on Twister and sent him into the sea. Soon afterwards, the android was thrown back out by Kaldur and landed in a heap on the ground. M'gann did not allow him a chance of recovery, using her telekinesis to bring him back into the air, ripping off some of his appendages as she did so. While Twister was still being held up, Renegade threw two of his explosive disks, which sent the android crashing into the ground, defeated.

As the victorious teenagers gathered around the fallen Twister, his body suddenly opened up and revealed a scrawny man. M'gann used her powers and, ignoring her teammates protests, crushed the man with a boulder. Renegade felt his blood run cold. He knew what murder was, and he did not like it one bit. "Not cool, Miss M! We don't execute our captives around here!" Wally nodded in agreement.

M'gann smiled. "You said you trusted me." She reminded them before lifting the rock off of the man. Instead of seeing blood like he thought he would, Renegade saw broken robotic parts littering the ground. "That's why I couldn't read his mind."

Kid Flash grinned and scooped up a fallen eyeball. "Cool, souvenir!"

"We should've had more faith in you." Kaldur smiled and put a hand on M'gann's shoulder. The girl smiled in response, looking like she finally belonged.

Renegade glanced away, feeling like the odd one out once more.

xXx

Kaldur and Red Tornado were discussing the purpose of the creation of the Mr. Twister android. While Renegade looked like he was paying attention to their dull words, he was actually lost in thought. Not only did he fell guilty about keeping his knowledge on Red Tornado a secret, as well as the data involving the other League members, but he was also feeling useless. He barely played a part in this battle. If he wasn't there, the team would've been victorious anyways. Unlike the other four members on this team, he was replaceable.

"Renegade?"

The boy was brought out of his thoughts and saw that his teammates were staring at him. Renegade blinked, noticing for the first time that Red Tornado already left the room. So much for acting like he was paying attention. Wally snickered at his bewildered expression and clasped a hand on his shoulder to lead him away, Kaldur following.

"Speedy was so wrong." KF said cheerfully.

"This team thing might just work out." Kaldur agreed.

Renegade grinned. "I don't doubt it," he said, not even lying. Even though there were some bumps along the way, the mission was a success in the end. And who knows? Maybe his new friends will be understanding when they learn about his secret. Perhaps they won't even toss him out into the streets.

Well, that didn't mean that Renegade was about to test that just yet. He was not going to ruin a perfectly good day with some drama. There was absolutely no reason for him to say anything just yet. Everyone was happy over their victory and held no suspicions towards him so far.

It wasn't like there was talk about a mole being on the team, right?

xXx

 **AN: I'm so evil. I just had to bring up the mole thing. I'm such a bad person...Don't you love it?**

 **You know, I had to watch episode three several times just to get some of these quotes. The things I do for you guys!**

 **Any suggestions? Something you really want to see? Since there is a couple of days between every episode, I can easily add some things in. If y'all don't suggest anything, I'll go straight to episode four. :)**


	3. Glimpses of the Past

The Justice League gathered around the tape recorder, listening to the rescued boy's explanation in rapt attention. Batman made sure to record his conversation with the boy known as Renegade, and called in a meeting with the other League members to discuss what to do with this evidence. Matching looks of horror and anger adorned the gathered faces as they heard about Renegade's main purpose in his previous 'home.' By the end of the recording, they were beyond furious.

"How dare they do that to a child?!" Wonder Woman cried.

"Sick bast-"

"Language," The Flash muttered, elbowing Green Arrow in the ribs. "I don't like that we were clueless about this for so long. How long was that boy stuck in there?"

"Too long," Batman answered immediately. "Him and I both agree that he is around thirteen years old. The fact that he doesn't remember much about his life before Cadmus is concerning. That alone tells us that he was in captivity for years; otherwise he would be able to have a basic understanding of his life."

Looks of unease were thrown at each other as another moment passed. Eventually, Superman spoke up, "Did the DNA search give us any answers?"

"No."

Black Canary nodded. "It was a long shot anyways."

Green Arrow watched the dark knight carefully. "There's something that you haven't told us."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "And what's that?"

"Are you keeping him, or no?"

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor made several members wince, and Batman was soon standing on his feet with a hard glare being directed at his teammate. "Renegade isn't a _pet_."

"I didn't mean-"

"I won't be keeping him, because it's not my right to do so. He's a person, not an object." He took in a deep breath to steady himself after his rant. The surrounding members of the JLA were confused about the man's reaction. They only saw him get that defensive over a few people, and only one of them wasn't dead.

"I didn't want it to sound like that!" GA defended. "I just want to know if you're still serious about getting yourself a sidekick."

Everyone who hasn't heard about the man's sudden urge to take on a protege stared in shock. "You're not serious, are you?" Superman spoke slowly. Carefully. "You hate people."

"Do not question me, Clark." The members shifted uneasily in their seats. The use of civilian names meant that they were treading in dangerous waters. Push another button, and someone would have a batarang being shoved down their throats.

"R-right. So, you're going to take him in? Let some stranger come into your house, learn your identity, and train with you?"

"You're still questioning me." Batman said lowly, gaining a few wide eyed stares. "I'm telling you this once, and once only. I want a protege and Renegade is the perfect candidate. I am going to train with him a couple of times to make sure that he has the potential. After that, I'll talk to him about staying with me. The end."

Martian Manhunter cleared his throat. "I understand why you are all confused, but there's an explanation for Batman's sudden desire to become a mentor."

"J'onn." Batman growled warningly.

Aquaman stood, smiling apologetically at the dark knight before waving his hand to produce a holo-computer. "I'm sure you all remember the incident concerning one Richard Grayson?" The image of a boy with raven hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen.

That got everyone's attention. If they weren't all uneasy before, they definitely were now. One of the big no-no's with Batman was discussing that particular child.

One of the Green Lanterns shifted in his seat. "We are aware of the situation..."

How could anyone forget? While Batman was in his civvies, he attended one of the Haley's Circus showings. The details on why he was even there was still a mystery to a lot of them, but what happened there was no secret. The performances started off as normal- clowns made corny jokes while doing stupid things, animals performed extraordinary tricks, some guy swallowed a flaming sword...

And then there was the Flying Graysons, the only trapeze artists in the world that could perform a quadruple flip. They did all of their tricks without the safety of a net, something that didn't fail to awe anyone. The most extraordinary thing was their youngest one, a young boy named Richard. He was only eight!

They were amazing, but not amazing enough to escape death when their ropes snapped...

The only one who survived the apparent accident was the boy, since his parents decided that he was far too young to be performing the grande finale. That poor boy was forced to watch his entire family fall to their deaths, but he stayed strong and told the police that he was sure that the snapping rope was no accident.

The police didn't believe him, but Batman did. He ended up talking to the police to try and see if there was any possibility of letting Richard stay with him instead of being sent to an orphanage. It didn't take much convincing, but he was told that his background needed to be checked and that social services would need to scope out his house before anything was allowed. After two days of waiting, he was allowed to adopt Richard as his ward.

However, when he got there, there was no boy to adopt.

All traces of Grayson were gone. The police scoured the entire city for him, Bruce Wayne traveled everywhere in search for him, Batman used every device in his possession to locate him...but he was never found. After a week of no results, the entire League was forced into the case. None of them ever saw Batman look so desperate. Even though they usually only involved themselves in much higher cases, they couldn't stand seeing that man torture himself over this missing boy.

So, they helped look for him. Superman spent a lot of his free time flying around, using his enhanced hearing to try to locate him. Aquaman traveled the seas, sneaking onto any boat that looked suspicious. Even the Green Lanterns were forced to keep an eye out in space. Batman would often say that there was a possibility that aliens were involved. No one had the heart to argue with him; they saw how badly this case was affecting him.

This kept up until a full year passed. It was then that the police finally declared that Richard was deceased, and the whole thing was filed as a cold case. To say that Batman was unhappy was an understatement. The man was livid after the news was passed on to him. Of course, he was only angrier when the League told him that they were giving up on the case as well.

Another year had passed, with Batman searching the Earth with just as much ferocity as before. It wasn't uncommon for someone to find the man passed out in strange places just because he refused to sleep normally. Agent A once came up to the Tower and had to scream at the man just to get him to eat something, saying how eating only once every couple of days was not going to help him find Richard any sooner. With the man's thinness, shakiness, and crazed eyes, they knew that they had to do something. And so they nominated Black Canary to talk some sense into him. The woman was able to trick Batman into coming into her office for a forced therapy session.

No one was ever told what went down that night.

It was after that encounter that Batman finally calmed down. He stopped putting criminals into full body casts, didn't go on patrol so late, and started to eat regularly. The League was more than a little relieved, but they noticed a few changes in his attitude. One of them was the touchinsss that he acquired. Say one wrong thing, and you could find yourself being hit by the Batmobile. The worst thing you could talk about was the Grayson kid.

Which of course brings us back to the present.

Superman avoided looking at the dark knight. "How does this have anything to do with Grayson?"

Aquaman fiddled with the screen a bit, still a little hesitant. "Let me show you something." A few buttons were pressed, and an older version of the child was shown. "This is what Richard would look like today."

Black Canary narrowed her eyes. "That looks like-"

The Flash took over for the Atlantian. "Now, for those who are not that familiar with Renegade, watch." With a few taps of a button, an image of the masked boy appeared next to Grayson.

Superman seemed to choke on the air itself. "Wait. Is that...?"

Batman finally stood, receiving everyone's attention. "There is the possibility that Renegade is Richard Grayson." He said coldly. "However, we will not be able to tell for sure until he gets his full memory back."

Green Arrow nodded slowly. "Okay. Well, uh, didn't you say that taking his mask off should help us figure out his identity too? I mean, if he has blue eyes, he has to be Grayson!"

"It's not that easy. Cadmus has tampered with Renegade's DNA. His eye color could have been changed as a result of it. In fact, his many similarities to Richard Grayson could be because of the DNA changes as well. It was no secret that the League was involved in Grayson's search. Cadmus might have grabbed a kid off of the streets to make him resemble Richard in order to plant a spy in our midst.

"Even though Martian Manhunter has checked to make sure that there is no ill will in Renegade's thoughts, he has sensed doubt in his mind. Both Renegade and myself are concerned that Cadmus might have planted some hidden programming in the chip in his mind that will force him to turn on us. J'onn has agreed to do a full mental scan on Renegade to make sure that we will not have to worry about that."

Superman spoke again, "And if he is a danger?"

"Then we will figure something out, won't we?" Black Canary smiled briefly. "We aren't going to just abandon this child for something that isn't his fault."

Batman nodded in response to Canary's statement. "As for when we do the brain scan, that has yet to be certain."

"What do you mean?" Flash frowned. "Shouldn't you do that right away?"

Manhunter shook his head. "No. Putting myself into his mind so soon will have a negative effect on his mental health."

Before anyone could ask another question, Batman spoke again. "Renegade is having problems with his memory loss. It's not that he can't remember anything, it's obvious that his memories are surfacing, but he is not letting himself remember. His subconscious is making him feel pain whenever he tries to think about his past, and he is quick to drop the subject.

"That isn't all. Renegade has claimed that his mask has been on his face for so long that his skin has started to grow around it, making it too painful to remove. While I don't think he is lying, J'onn and I believe that he is using that mask to hide himself from his own identity. If he sees his entire face, it might make him remember more. I offered to help him get it off but he refused. That alone makes me believe this theory even more."

"That's...so messed up." GA muttered.

"Have there been any signs of withdrawal?"

Red Tornado finally spoke. "Renegade has been seen scratching at his arms by his fellow teammates. I myself have heard him screaming from what I know to be a nightmare on the first two nights after his arrival. He is now silent during the night, though I am unsure if that is due to a lack of nightmare or a lack of sleep in general."

"Canary, I need you to talk to him."

"I was just about to suggest that." The woman smiled a little. "You know, the last appointment I had with him, he refused to talk about himself. He just went on and on about the stuff you gave him, Batman."

A few people blinked at this information while Batman simply looked uncomfortable. "Should I have not done that?"

"It was a good thing you did, actually. It looks to me as though he likes the attention. Watch what you say to him, though. He's in a delicate state of mind, and he latched onto the idea of you being his fatherly figure."

Silence.

"Wow. Batman being a dad? I didn't think I'd live to see the day." Green Arrow snickered.

"I will be...careful." Batman said slowly. "But, Renegade is not what we came here to discuss. The FBI are going to want to know why we were involved with a seemingly harmless organization..."

xXx (Five Days Later) xXx

"We're approaching Santa Prisca." M'gann announced to her teammates. Renegade sat up a little in his seat, trying to give himself an auror of authority, remembering the discussion they had when they were at the Mountain.

 _"De Isle SantaPrisca, this island is the primary source of an illegal neo-steroid, a strength enhancing drug under the street name-"_

 _"Venom, right?" Renegade cut in._

 _Batman looked at the boy sharply, and the boy looked away, silently cursing himself for the slip up. Thankfully, Batman didn't question how he got this information and continued, "Yes. Infrared heat signatures indicate they're still operating a full capacity, but supply lines have been cut off. That's where this team comes in; this is a convert recon mission only. Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to intervene, it will. The plan requires two drop-zones." Batman brought up a holographic map of the land, and Renegade memorized the coordinates indicated._

 _"So who's in charge?" He asked, looking at Batman directly. The leadership of the League seemed to fall between both Batman and Superman, and Renegade hoped that becoming leader of this team would give him Batman's respect. Out of all of the heroes, he needed that man's approval the most. Why? He had no idea._

 _Batman and Red Tornado shared a look. Renegade frowned as Batman glanced at Aqualad for a moment before finally speaking, "Work that out amongst yourselves."_

Why did he look at Aqualad? Was _he_ not up to the vigilante's standards? A low growl almost managed to escape from his throat, but he squashed it out and turned away to stare out the window. He could definitely be leader, especially during this mission! Even though he didn't have as much experience as Aqualad and Kid Flash in the hero business, he definitely had the most knowledge on how the criminal mind worked. Being stuck with Cadmus for years, plus being trained by a group of assassins, gave him an upper hand against the others. On top of that, he had personal experiences with drugs. This mission was almost begging him to lead it!

"Drop-zone A." M'gann said, snapping the boy out of his thoughts. A quick glance at Kaldur revealed that he was switching his suit to the stealth mode that Batman had installed. Renegade scowled bitterly, but ignored his feeling of resentment. Batman was not his father; he was not allowed to feel jealous when the man gave his teammates things.

"Ready." Aqualad announced as he prepared to be dropped off.

"Putting Bio-ship in camouflage mode." Miss M declared in response as Aqualad fell into the waters below. Renegade bit back a sarcastic comment reluctantly. A good leader never lashed out when they weren't in a particularly good mood. They would keep it to themselves and remain calm in order to have a successful mission.

He really wanted to snap at Kaldur and throw a fit, though.

 _"Heat and sensors are now patched. Data's now in a continuous loop. Move in._ " Aqualad said over their comlink, the commanding tone to his voice making Renegade bristle.

"Drop-zone B." M'gann said as the ship hovered over the land. The others let the chairs remove the straps from their torsos and stood. Cable lines fell from the ceiling, and Renegade clipped one to his belt, Wally doing the same.

"How cool is this?" KF asked as he activated his own camouflage mode. Renegade glanced away, not even listening to M'gann's reply. His sour mood seemed to worsen as this mission continued.

"Hey Supey, you gonna try the new stealth tech or what?" Kid turned to look at Superboy, who folded his arms over his chest.

"No capes, no tights. No offense." Superboy replied, making Renegade smirk. The cape, he could definitely do. A cape along with a mask was sure to make anyone feel like a real hero. However, tights were definitely unnecessary. The Kevlar suit that Batman provided him was did not include tights, thankfully.

Wait, he wore tights before, didn't he? Renegade scrunched his eyebrows together as he focused on that thought. Back when he was in the circus...

 _'The Flying-!'_

 _SNAP!_

 _CRUNCH!_

The feeling of someone smashing his head against concrete returned, and he barely held back a cry of pain. The other teens' conversation drifted into the background as he closed his eyes tightly. Pressure built up in the back of his skull as he continued to grip onto the fading memory. What was flying? Why was that so important? What was that snapping noise that he heard?

Renegade was thrown out of his thoughts when he was lowered to the ground by the cord, along with the others. Instincts kicked in and he quickly jumped to the side just as Superboy threw himself onto the ground, creating a small crater in his wake. "I knew I didn't need a line." The clone said smugly.

"Well creating a seismic event doesn't really help with the covert." Renegade narrowed his eyes. He should've been paying attention to what his teammates were doing instead of going down memory road. He didn't even need to remember anything. Thinking about the past would do him no good in the present.

Miss Martian shook her head at the two of them. "Aqualad, drop B is go." She said over the comm as Renegade and Kid Flash unhooked the attached cords from themselves.

 _"Head for the factory. I'll track your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."_ Aqualad responded.

"Got it." Renegade mumbled as he brought up a holographic map of the island, highlighting the location of the factory as well as the safest route to get there by. His teammates nodded at him and proceeded to travel through the tropical environment, not being interrupted for a good fifteen minutes.

Superboy suddenly paused. "Did you hear that?" He asked, making the others stop. Renegade quickly activated switched his eyesight to 'infrared mode.' Using his Cadmus gifted abilities usually made the boy slightly nervous, but he was too busy trying to prove himself worthy of leadership to be bothered.

Without a second glance back, Renegade slipped past the trees and used the shadows as a cover. As he got farther away from his teammates, he heard Wally address him, only to complain about his disappearance soon after. Renegade couldn't help but laugh at his friend's annoyance, the sound seeming eerie even to his own ears. Yes, it was official: that creepy cackle was staying.

The boy crept to the edge of the jungle and jumped into a high tree branch for a better view. Two different units were approaching each other, wearing different uniforms. Either the two groups were in the same organization and confused about where to patrol, or they were different groups that were about to fight it out. Renegade was hoping for the latter. While he was in Cadmus, he found that if two scientists were busy arguing, no one would notice if he snuck out to grab something to eat. If these two patrols fought, they would be too distracted to notice the team.

Renegade was about to turn away and tell his teammates about his plan, but remained where he was when he saw Kid Flash run straight into the battlefield. "Now that, kids, is a perfect example on what _not_ to do when you're trying to stay hidden." Renegade muttered under his breath.

The boy remained in his perch and watched as the other members of the team finally arrived on the scene. The teenagers quickly came to Wally's aid, launching their own attacks at the gathered men. Renegade tensed his muscles and silently jumped to another tree's branch, this one much closer to the fight, and jumped off to take down two of the armed men. "What is wrong with you guys, remember convert? Why didn't you follow my lead, vanish into the jungle?"

"That's what you were doing? Way to fill us in! We're not mind readers, you know." It was at that precise moment that the invisible Miss Martian used her telekinesis to throw a couple of men into a tree. "Well, most of us aren't."

Renegade turned to look at the last enemy standing, but Aqualad took him out before he could even think about attacking. Wally gave a small victory cheer before grabbing a couple of men by the back of their collars and pulled them towards the Atlantian, M'gann and Superboy doing the same. The masked boy paused for a moment before reluctantly copying their actions. In a few minutes, they had both squads of men securely tied up to trees.

Renegade did a mental scan on a few of the men. "I recognize the uniform. These guys are part of the Cult of the Kobra."

"I'm certain Batman would have mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom operation." Aqualad pointed out. The other boy saw a silent question being directed towards him in the Atlantian's eyes. The 'how do you know this?' wasn't hidden. Everyone else probably noticed the look as well.

Renegade tapped his head pointedly, trying to convey to them that it was the mental chip that was giving him this information. He certainly didn't care about telling them that he could bring up information on a group of criminals. Since Cadmus wasn't exactly good, no one would question why their databases had some information on Kobra, especially since there are drugs involved. It was only the information on the League that would make them wary, and that was something that no one knew.

"Agreed and since there's clearly no love between the culprits and those goons, I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out. That's why normal supply lines have been cut off." The muscular man with a black and white mask growled lowly. 'Bane,' his databases told him. 'Criminal- mainly works in Gotham. Santa Prisca is his birthplace. Uses drugs to acquire super strength.'

"We get it, Kobra wanted super cultists, mystery solved. Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for-" Wally began, but was cut off by Renegade.

"These cultists aren't on Venom, Kobra is hoarding this stuff. We don't leave, not until I know why."

"Until _you_ know why?" KF asked in disbelief.

"This team needs a leader." Renegade said, straightening his stance to make himself look taller.

"And it's you?" Kid spoke in a condescending tone as he pointed at the other. Renegade hid his surprise; he didn't think anyone besides Kaldur would argue against his leadership. "Dude, you're a thirteen year old kid who ducked out on us without a word."

"And your mature fifteen?" Renegade could barely contain his anger. He was a lot more mature than most of the team, especially Wally. "You blew our cover the first chance you got!"

"You don't even have powers!" Kid shouted in return. No powers? What do you call his ability to find information on anyone he sees? What about being able to connect his mind to any technology to shut it down? Was that not enough for them?

"Batman doesn't have any powers!"

"You're not Batman!" Wally argued. Renegade felt somewhat offended by this statement and was going to say something but couldn't, because Kid wasn't done yet. "You're just a kid we rescued from Cadmus!"

 _Ouch_.

The other teenagers in the area's eyes widened at these words, and Superboy growled lowly at the implication. Wally gave the clone an apologetic look before turning away. Renegade blinked in disbelief; Kid felt bad about offending Superboy, but not him? That was it then. He should've known that he was only accepted into this team because they felt bad. Superboy actually proved himself useful to everyone with his super strength. Renegade, however, had nothing.

"You're right, that's exactly what I am." Renegade said coldly.

"Renegade..." M'gann sounded concerned.

"Such clever niños, but you only know half the story." Bane said suddenly, a spark of amusement in his eyes. He obviously enjoyed watching the teens argue. It didn't matter, though. After this mission, Renegade would be out of everyone's hair once and for all. Although he still had a burning desire to be leader, he was willing to get into the Justice League and earn Batman's respect that way. "Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory, reveal my secret entrance."

"There is a secret entrance, but he's also hiding something." M'gann warned as she crouched down in front of the man, eyes glowing white.

"Ah-ah-ah chica, Bane is not that easy." The criminal smirked. That certainly was suspicious. No one offers to help others while hiding most of his motives. Bane was obviously hiding something.

"He's mentally reviewing football scores in español. This could take awhile." The Martian frowned in disappointment.

"It's not that complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." The man grinned, eyes glinting.

xXx

The fight itself was unimportant in the grand scheme of things, in Renegade's opinion. True to his word, Bane led them through a secret passageway that brought them inside the factory. Renegade took the first moment he could to ditch the others, not wanting to be around them for a long time. After hacking into a computer and gaining the needed information on Venom-Blockbuster hybrid, the boy reluctantly joined his teammates in the battle, even going toe to toe with Kobra for a while.

Soon afterwards, he was called into a retreat. He was beyond caring at this point- he wanted to go home. Where home was now that he was leaving the team, he wasn't sure. He just needed to be alone. Renegade re-entered the secret passageway along with the others, not even flinching as Superboy attacked the support beams. The tunnel soon collapsed, throwing everyone into darkness.

"This was supposed to be my first mission as leader." Renegade muttered as Aqualad lit up a red glow stick, creating an eerie lighting.

"You are the most experienced when it comes to this type of thing, but you lack the social skills that are necessary in teamwork. A leader cannot vanish and expect others to play a part in some unknown plan."

Renegade didn't reply. It was not his responsibility to hold everyone's hands and guide them step by step through their missions. That was what a babysitter was for. However, the comment on lacking the required social skills bugged him a little. He would love to see Kaldur go five years in solitary confinement with nothing but drugs and scientists to accompany him.

"I think Kaldur should be leader." Miss M said suddenly, smiling at the Atlantian.

"What? What about me!" Wally whined.

"I agree with M'gann. Kaldur is the best choice." Superboy folded his arms over his chest.

Kaldur had the audacity to look surprised. "If you believe that is best, I will accept the role."

Wally scoffed. "Whatever. Now that that's over with, let's get out of here."

As everyone was leaving, Kaldur suddenly stopped Renegade. "I know you were born to be leader, but until you are ready, I will take your place. The moment you are able to claim the title, I will step down." And before Renegade could say anything, the Atlantian left.

The boy blinked a few times, confused. Why would Kaldur offer to do that? Didn't he want to be leader just as much as he did? Renegade found himself feeling guilty as he recognized that Aqualad was being kind to him, when he did nothing but envy him the entire night.

There was no way that he could leave now, not with someone expecting him to lead the team in the future.

The boy smiled a little as he caught up to the others just a little away from the exit. There, he was greeted by the sight of Bane, who was a lot more muscular than usual. He must have injected himself with Venom at one point. The man smirked at the gathered teens and waved a trigger around. "Halt, niños. I'm feeling...explosive." Renegade glanced up and saw many bombs stuck on the ceiling. Deactivating them one by one with his powers would take too long.

"You betrayed us. Why?" Aqualad questioned.

"I want my factory back." The man answered, while Aqualad mentally told Kid Flash to grab the trigger. "So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies or die trying. If the latter, the League will certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks, and when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more. Blowing the tunnel with you inside should have the same effect." Bane's eyes flashed. "Though I'm sure little traitor here would be worth more to me alive, I'm already on the Light's bad side. Looks as though I'll have to kill you after all."

Renegade narrowed his eyes slightly, knowing that his name literally meant traitor. However, no one else seemed to have made the connection. They probably thought that Bane meant they actually had a traitor in their midst.

Kid Flash quickly ran forward and snatched the device out of the man's hand. "With what, this trigger thingy?" He taunted, twiddling with it in his hands. Bane moved to throw an angry punch at the speedster, but Miss M used her powers to levitate him into the air.

"Finally, drop him." Superboy ordered, cracking his knuckles. M'gann smiled and released her hold on the criminal. Superboy swung his fist at the man's face, knocking him out instantly.

"Okay, here's the plan." Kaldur began.

xXx

Renegade's mission was simple- distract Kobra while the rest of the team destroyed the Venom-Blockbuster mix. The boy quickly threw a grappling line at Kobra's second in command, tying them up. Renegade stopped a few feet away from the pale man, trying to formulate a way to take him down. From the information in his database, Kobra's physical strength was not something to joke about. This man could even be on par with Batman. Kobra was definitely out of his league, but he would be damned if he didn't try.

"I know you don't like getting your hands dirty..."

There wasn't even a flicker of surprise on that face. Renegade was hoping to catch him off guard by showing off the knowledge he had on him. Apparently, that wasn't an option anymore. "True, but sometimes even a God must stoop to conquer." The man calmly stated as he removed his cloak, watching the boy carefully. Renegade wasted no time and launched a series of attacks that were all easily blocked. "What's the matter boy?"

Renegade grit his teeth in response. "I'm just getting started." He threw another punch at the man, which was once again blocked. Kobra then attempted to throw his own punch at the boy, but he was quick to dodge it, somersaulting to the side. He stood again and kicked at his opponent, but his leg was caught. Renegade grunted as he was suddenly thrown backwards, coming into contact with the dusty ground as the sound of an explosion was heard.

Renegade launched himself back into the fight, dodging a knee strike that was aimed at his head. Kobra seemed to grow frustrated. "I'm surrounded by mosquitoes!"

"You seem to be struggling with these mosquitoes." Renegade taunted as he stepped backwards to rejoin his teammates.

Kobra's eyes searched the wreckage surrounding him, realizing that he has lost the fight. "Another time then." He said, stepping back to let the shadows absorb him. Renegade tried to pursue him, but let out a small huff of irritation when he noticed that there was no sign of the man.

The boy shook his head slightly as he looked turned around, watching the flames tear away the factory with a small smirk. Since he wasn't leading this mission, this obviously couldn't be blamed on him. "We picked the right guy to lead." Renegade said with a level of cheeriness as he walked past Aqualad. "Automatically making you the right person to explain this to Batman.

He cackled as he walked ahead of the others, not missing it when Kaldur winced. Maybe it was a good thing that he wasn't leader. That meant that he still had time to be an annoying trouble maker.

That thought made him smirk.

xXx

 **AN: There you go- chapter three!**

 **I received a couple of requests, and I will work on putting them in the next couple of chapters.**

 **Note: I'm still taking suggestions. Since there's a couple of days between each episode, i can add whatever I want. All you need to do is ask. :)**

 **Note #2: RENEGADE IS NOT THE MOLE. I REPEAT: RENEGADE IS NOT THE MOLE. Thank you. :)**


	4. Friends and Family

Renegade was bored.

The experiment was lounging on the couch, using a remote to flip through the many television stations. Each one had its own show, movie, or news briefing on, and each one failed to bring the boy out of his boredom.

Wally and Kaldur were playing against each other in a friendly game of air hockey, with M'gann as an audience. The two other boys offered to let Renegade play as well, but he quickly refused. It wasn't that he didn't want to- he did. But, he didn't want to further embarrass himself in front of his teammates.

He didn't know how to play air hockey. In fact, he didn't know that it existed before today! Now that he thought about it, there were a lot of things that he didn't know about. Either he had forgotten about them, or he simply didn't have enough time when he was younger to experience these things. Wally took it upon himself to introduce Renegade to the many things that he missed out on during his time in Cadmus. Most of the things he was shown were interesting, but there were also some that he was not allowed to go anywhere near ever again. Caffeine was the number one, hair gel falling right behind it.

Renegade smirked as he remembered the incident that involved both. However, the smirk soon fell into a grimace as pure hunger itched at his insides. It wasn't a hunger for food, unfortunately; it was drugs that his body craved. The boy grit his teeth as he tried to unsuccessfully push away the want. Maybe he would have to sneak out again tonight...

"Ready for training everyone?" Renegade turned his head a little and spotted Black Canary and Martian Manhunter walking in from the zeta tubes. He grinned at the prospect of doing something other than watching tv or thinking about drugs, and scrambled up to his feet. In mere seconds, he joined everyone else by their training instructor.

"Uncle J'onn!" M'gann ran over to the League members and wrapped her arms around the older martian.

"M'gann, I was...in the neighborhood, so I thought I might stop by and see how you were adjusting." J'onn put a gentle hand on his niece's shoulder.

"Just a few bumps, but I'm learning." The girl sounded a bit hesitant, probably thinking back to the fight with Mr Twister again. Renegade frowned and projected a feeling of reassurance to his friend. While M'gann didn't physically acknowledge him, he felt a slight buzz of happiness in the back of his mind.

"That's all I can ask."

Renegade caught a glimpse of Superboy trudging out of the room. Canary apparently saw this too, as she called out to him, "Stick around. Class is in session."

Superboy scowled, but complied, remaining in the room. The rest of the team gathered around their teacher. Renegade found himself standing beside Kaldur, who gave him the tiniest of nods in greeting. The experiment repeated the gesture before training his eyes on Canary. If there was anything that he was sure of, it was that he loved training.

"I consider it an honor to be your teacher. I'll throw a lot at you, everything that I learned from my own mentors-" Black Canary cut herself off as she aggravated the injury on her arm. Worried, Renegade did a quick mental scan, happy to discover that she was not fatally injured. "And my own bruises."

"What happened?" M'gann asked. Apparently, Renegade wasn't the only one who was worried.

"The job." Canary stated simply. "Now, combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting. I'll need a sparring partner."

Wally's hand flew up. "Right here, yeah." A cocky smile fitted over the boy's face as he walked over to the woman. "After this, I'll show you my moves." Renegade could barely hide his disgust at his teammate's poor attempt at flirting. Black Canary simply smirked as she threw a punch at KF, who quickly blocked it. A split second later, Wally crumpled onto the floor as his feet were swept from under him. The speedster winced. "Oooh, hurts so good..."

"Good block, but did anyone see what he did wrong?" Canary asked as she assisted Wally with getting up to his feet.

Renegade smirked. "He hit on the teacher and got served?" He offered, enjoying the look of betrayal on his teammate's face. Well, his name _did_ mean traitor!

"Dude!" KF have him a half-hearted glare.

Black Canary smiled in amusement. "He allowed me to dictate the terms of-"

"Oh please." Superboy interrupted. "With my powers, the battle is always on my terms. I'm a living weapon, and this is a waste of my time."

"Prove it." The woman said with a challenging tone, surprising the clone. His blue eyes took in her smirk and relaxed stance, making it look as though she had nothing to fear. Superboy scowled again and stomped into the ring just a few feet away from her. A brief stare down commenced, and Superboy was the one to throw the first punch. Black Canary calmly grabbed him and used his momentum to throw him onto the ground a little bit away from her.

Renegade couldn't help but laugh. Man, Superboy was getting his butt kicked! Aqualad elbowed him for his show of disrespect, but the younger one ignored it, snickering loudly. Oh, he couldn't wait until he was allowed to go against Canary. He wanted to see if he could do any better than his teammates.

"You're angry, good. But, don't react. Channel that anger into-" She wasn't able to finish because Superboy used that moment to disregard her advice and launch himself back at his opponent again. Canary dodged the poor attack by flipping over the clone. As soon as she was behind him, she dropped down and swept his feet from under him, much like she did with Wally.

Renegade didn't even bother to muffle his resulting laughter.

"That's it, I'm done." Superboy said hotly, ignoring the woman's offer to help him up.

Canary's friendly attitude didn't fade away, and she placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "Training is mandatory." She argued, not even flinching as Superboy pushed her hand away. Renegade knew that the clone was just embarrassed and needed some time to cool off before he could think rationally.

A holographic screen suddenly appeared, the dark knight's face on it. Renegade subconsciously stood up straighter as the man spoke, _"Batman to the cave. Five hours ago a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary. The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."_

Disastrous, huh? Disaster would be the word of the day. He couldn't wait to annoy his teammates by completely butchering the word and using it in every day conversations. Yes, he was serious about being an annoying trouble maker.

"Woah. One guy with the powers of the entire League." Wally said in amazement. Renegade frowned in return. That didn't sound as great as KF was obviously thinking.

 _"In the end, it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android."_

Android, huh? A quick look through Cadmus files gave him only one person who was associated with the Light, but he was dead. After another search, he came across another name. "Did Morrow make it?"

Batman stared at him for a long moment before answering _. "Good guess Renegade, but Red Tornado doesn't think so."_

But, that only left-

"The technology has the signature of Professor Ivo." J'onn explained.

"Ivo? But he is dead." Aqualad looked up at Batman hesitantly.

"He isn't. We all hoped that he was, but..." Canary sighed.

 **"Updating information..."** Renegade's mental systems informed him, erasing the 'deceased' title on the Professor's file and adding the little known information on the newly developed android.

 _"To make certain that this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android to two separate Star Lab facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation. Every precaution has been taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo, or anyone, tries to recover the remains. You will split into two undercover teams to safeguard the real trucks."_

"Sweet, road trip!" KF chirped.

"So now we take out your trash?" Superboy asked in a low growl.

"You had something better to do?" Renegade countered, at the same time as Batman, coincidently. The boy grinned up at the dark knight and silently cheered as the man's lips twitched upwards in return. Success!

A device in Aqualad's possession suddenly let out a quiet beeping noise. The Atlantian produced a GPS and looked it over before nodding towards Batman. "Coordinates received. We are on our way."

Renegade cheerfully fell into step behind the team leader, subconsciously scratching his left arm as they left.

xXx (Later) xXx

Apparently, Aqualad had assumed that it would be a 'good' idea to partner the two Cadmus projects together.

Renegade didn't have a personal grudge against the clone, but their personalities always seemed to clash. Since they lived together in the Mountain, the two of them found themselves arguing over the smallest of things. Food, training, sleep habits, television channels (seriously, who watches _static_?), and just about anything else they managed to find, came up in one of their arguments.

However, they both had similar backgrounds. While it was true that Renegade was assumed to have had a life before Cadmus, Superboy did not. Besides this, both of them could relate to each other because of how they were still new to this world. The long amount of time they both spent in captivity left them with a bare understanding of the Earth. The only brotherly moments that they shared were when they helped each other through the uncertainty in their new lives.

That didn't mean they were close pals, though.

The team was stationed a few feet away from where the League was loading the trucks. Wally had parked his bike right next to Renegade's, ranting about how he was being forced to go camping with his dad. Renegade tried and failed to understand what the problem was with that. Camping was fun, wasn't it...

 _A child's laughter rang out through the trees, and a small boy darted out of the woods and into a clearing. A man with the same dark hair as the child ran out behind him, scooping up the child in his strong arms._

 _"I caught ya, little one!" The man said, poking the boy's side, who produced a timid giggle._

 _"Tati, put me down!"_

 _"We're supposed to be camping, not waking up the entire forest." A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes soon joined the two, looking amused. The man grinned and used his free arm to pull her into a hug. The family smiled at each other contently..._

VROOM.

Renegade was pulled out of his memories by the sound of a revving engine. Pain blossomed in the back of his head, but he ignored it as he took off behind the now moving truck. His teammates gave him strange looks for his slow reaction, but he ignored them in favor of forcing the water to stay in his eyes.

Seriously, this was not the time for thinking about that.

Pushing the thoughts about his parents to the back of his mind, Renegade sped up until he was driving next to Superboy. The clone's face was still pinched with anger and he only scowled when the other boy fell in line with him. From what he was told by M'gann, people generally wanted to talk when they were upset. Superboy, though, wasn't most people. The clone would probably reject any attempts of comforting. That meant that Renegade would have to be as nonchalant as possible.

Huh. Could something be chalant? Tsk. Unfortunately, nonchalant was not the word of the day. He would have to wait another time to butcher that one.

"So if dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster? See, instead of things going wrong, they go right!"

Silence was met by his words, though a not-so-subtle glare was pointed in his direction. Renegade mentally shrugged. He didn't care if his use of the English language annoyed anyone. "I guess you're not feeling the aster. What's up?" There. That was nonchalant, right?

"Canary. I mean, what business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"

That was why he was in a bad mood? No, there was something else there. "Taking down stronger guys is part of the hero gig." And the assassin one too, he mentally added. "Canary probably learned that the hard way, Batman too. I know I certainly did."

This was of course not an acceptable answer in Superboy's mind. Renegade sighed as his teammate sped away from him with an angry snarl. The boy mentally added 'the importance of training' to the many things that both Cadmus projects have argued about. So far, he had a decent sized list.

They drove in silence for a moment before an obnoxious group of flying moneys swarmed overhead and attacked their truck. It was at that exact moment that Aqualad spoke over the comm. _"Renegade, Superboy, our truck is under attack!"_

"I kinda figured!"

"I hate monkeys." Superboy said lowly, as the truck in front of them swerved in the road. Renegade panicked a little. He was only thirteen- he barely knew how to drive this thing! His reflexes might not be fast enough to get him or civilians out of the way should the truck become a danger. Yeah, he was starting to dislike monkeys too.

"Robot monkeys." He chuckled weakly, trying to make himself seem calm. He looked through the Professor's files and glimpsed through the images of the man's past inventions. He sighed, "Yeah, this is definitely Ivo's style."

Focus. Renegade remembered the buttons on the motorcycle and eagerly pressed the one that enabled it to go into battle mode. A sigh of relief could be heard as the back part of the bike broke away and flew into the sky, leaving him on a one wheeled cycle.

"Hey, put your ride into battle mode!" Renegade called out to his comrade.

"No point." Superboy said hotly and threw himself off of his bike and onto the back of the moving truck. The driverless motorcycle skidded towards Renegade, who stared at it with wide eyes, unmoving. He was surely going to crash...

And suddenly, he was on the back of the truck too. Renegade blinked away his surprise and threw his hands up in defense against the attacking robots. Seconds later, he lashed out and smashed one of the attackers into pieces with his fist. He twisted around and kicked at yet another monkey, achieving the same result. He tried to connect to some of the robots to mentally shut them down but found that the technological part of his brain was rebooting. Odd.

A cry of pain was heard and the boy looked up to see his teammate being carried away by a group of monkeys. The robots seemed to giggle louder at the clone's displeasure as they unceremoniously tossed the boy into the street. Renegade frowned in worry as he continued to defend the truck from the onslaught of attacks. By himself.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Renegade drew his escrima sticks and used them to put more force into his heated attacks. Robot parts sparked as several monkeys were torn apart by his precise attacks. He was about to kick another enemy when Superboy jumped back onto the truck, shaking the entire vehicle. Renegade was nearly thrown off of the side as he struggled to remain balanced. How reckless can you be?!

Superboy growled at the monkeys but the truck swerved again before either of the heroes could attack. Renegade caught a glimpse of a couple of moneys flying away with a tire and nearly groaned. He was not paid enough for this. Especially since he wasn't paid at all.

Wait, the driver! The man was probably terrified right about now! The masked boy ran to the front of the truck and threw the driver door open. "Get out!" He shrieked, but the man seemed too shocked to listen. Growling, Renegade grabbed him without further warning and threw the both of them into the corn field outside, just as the truck started to roll.

The two males skidded through the fields for a a moment before finally coming to a rest in the dirt. The driver moaned something about his leg, and Renegade could barely suppress a sigh. "Can you stand?" He asked hopefully, but received a shake of the head in reply. Frowning, Renegade helped the man up to his feet and assisted him in the journey to the main road. The monkeys suddenly burst into a new crescendo of laughter as they pulled the android parts into the skies. Renegade protested as Superboy started to follow but the clone seemed to have gone deaf at that precise moment.

If he was leader, he would be so embarrassed.

 _"Aqualad to Renegade. We've lost our cargo. Did you-"_

"It's gone." Renegade grumbled. "And Superboy ditched me."

 _"Aqualad to Superboy. Radio in your position, and we'll help you."_

"Dont need any help- don't want any!" Renegade could hear the clone's shout even with their distance.

 **"Updating information..."** Renegade blinked as his technology finally seemed to be working. **"Superboy weaknesses: impulsive, prideful, and quick to anger. Attacks: super strength, and impressive jumping ability. Suggestion: distract with insults and destroy with Kryptonite."**

Renegade blinked.

And blinked again.

What. The. _Hell._ Was _that?!_

"-don't even know where to look!" He heard Wally say. Shaking his head to get rid of the unwanted information in his head, Renegade walked over to a fallen robot.

"Maybe we do." He said quietly as he hacked into its systems using a holo glove this time, as he didn't trust his own mind with the job. "We would have known if the decoy trucks were attacked, so how did these moneys know exactly where to look?" A holographic map appeared in front of him and he cracked a grin. "Ha, the parts have GPS! The monkeys can track the signal, which means I can track them with the one I captured. Looks like both parts are converging on...Gotham City."

Gotham? As in the city that was protected by Batman?! Renegade frowned a little. Did this mean that the dark knight would be taking over? Well...The man didn't need to know about this, after all. As he zoned back in, Renegade managed to catch Aqualad saying something about sending Kid Flash ahead. Works for him.

As the boy picked up his fallen motorcycle, he looked around at the damage that the monkeys caused. "Definitely a disaster." He muttered as he sped forward. "Heavy on the dis."

xXx (Batman) xXx

"I'll have the apple pie."

Bruce Wayne gave the waiter a winning smile as he handed them his menu. "The devil's food, please." He said charmingly. As soon as the waiter was out of sight Bruce dropped the cheerful act and gave Clark a sharp look.

"Something tells me this isn't about dessert." The other man said half jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Of course, it didn't work.

"The boy needs you." It was obvious to whom Wayne was referring to. The man had obviously seen the exchange between the man of steel and the clone.

Clark barely managed to not scowl at his friend. "No, he needs you. I'm just a constant reminder of what he's not."

"Sorry Clark, but you're wrong." At his friend's angered look, Bruce softened his expression. Slightly. "I know he...troubles you, but he's here. You have to get over the how and why. Trust me on this, the boy needs his father."

It was understandable that Clark was hesitant around the boy, but the amount of time he spent avoiding the kid annoyed Bruce on a personal level. No child should have to deal with not having parents, whether them not being alive was the problem or not. Yes, Wayne could defiantly sympathize with the boy. He knew what it was like to yearn for a father figure. However, Bruce's parents had the excuse of being dead. Clark had none.

"I'm not his father. And maybe you should worry about your own _child_ before worrying about my clone." The word child was spat with such venom that Bruce wanted to do nothing more than punch the other man's face in. Before he could so much as move, Clark stood. "I'll take that pie to go." He said evenly as he left. Bruce let him go, scowling.

As he sat there contemplating the situation, he glanced out the window and smiled sadly at the sight he was met with. A tall smiling man was walking down the road with a small boy perched on his shoulders. Bruce looked away and sighed. What Clark said about Renegade made him...uneasy. It wasn't as though he never paid attention to the child, unlike Clark. He was only hesitant about getting close to the boy in case there was any Cadmus programming in him. Was he evil for taking a precaution? No. Renegade would probably understand, seeing as though the boy was worried about the same thing.

The man sighed once again as the waiter brought him his food and mumbled his thanks. He found himself gazing outside to where several parents wandered around with their children, a feeling of longing in his chest. Ever since the Richard Grayson incident, he found that he had a fatherly instinct somewhere inside of him. Now that the boy was apparently back...

His appetite suddenly vanished.

xXx (Back with Renegade) xXx

Renegade drove towards the city, now wearing his familiar yet depressing uniform. Why depressing, you ask? Well, the design was created by Cadmus. Every time he wore his costume, he was reminded of the very people who forced him into this madness. Perhaps it was time to create his own look.

There was a sudden sound of loud wind and Renegade glanced over to look at KF, who was also in uniform. "So, you changed too." He said more to himself than the other.

"Are you kidding? I feel naked in civvies!" Wally tugged at the arms of his costume pointedly. "You still tracking the parts?"

The other boy nodded. "They were heading through Gotham, but they veered. They're at some place called...Gotham Academy."

Kid looked at the map that his companion produced and groaned. "That'll take more than five minutes to get to." He gave Renegade a bright grin. "So, where are you going to school?"

"Umm. School? I didn't think about that." He shrugged. "I dunno."

Wally nodded in understanding. "You're still pretty new to the world. I guess school isn't really what you would want on your mind. I sure don't want it on my mind!" He chuckled to himself. "Anyways, I'm going to Keystone High. I'll be a sophomore this year. Man, school starts really soon..."

 **"Updating information..."** Renegade nearly swerved his bike. What the... **"Kid Flash, aka Wally West. Sophomore at Keystone High. Kid Flash Weakness-"**

"Shut up." Renegade hissed, trying to hide his panic.

KF heard him and misunderstood, deflating a little. "Sorry, dude. I know I'm probably not your favorite person...Uh, I'll leave you alone now. Sorry."

Renegade shook his head frantically. "It's not you! It's that stupid voice-" he stopped. Wrong choice of words.

"Voice?" Wally looked concerned.

The younger one took in a deep breath and told him about how his databases seemed to be randomly saving information on members of the Team. After that, he started to talk about the weird tidbits of info that he had concerning several members of the Justice League. He had no idea why he was telling _Wally_ of all people but once he started talking, he found that he couldn't stop. Once he was finished he glanced at his holo computer. Surprisingly, his ranting only took two minutes to complete.

"Have...have you told anyone else about this?" The elder boy sounded unsure of himself.

"No." Renegade kept his eyes on the road, finding that he couldn't look at his teammate. "I...Nobody trusts me already. I just- I don't..." A deep breath broke as a sob worked its way past his throat. Pathetic.

"Hey, take it easy. I won't tell anyone..." Wally said softly. "But I want you to answer a question before I promise anything."

"Ask." He hurriedly brought a hand up and wiped away the traitorous tears. If Wally saw, he didn't comment.

"Do you want to, or have you already, betrayed the team?"

Renegade frowned. "I don't want to, but wouldn't spying on you count as betrayal?"

"Cadmus messed with your brain, right?" At the other's nod, Wally smiled. "Then it's probably just something they installed into the mechanical parts. Manhunter said that he'll look you over for any bad programming, right?"

"Batman said that I'll have to wait until I take my mask off."

"That's a weird thing to request. Why?"

"Because I'm afraid of seeing myself without my mask, and someone messing with my brain before while I'm like this isn't a good idea." Renegade sighed. "I don't know how they figured it out, but I don't want to...I'm afraid of what I'll see."

"What's the worst thing that you could find?"

He shook his head frantically. "I just...can't. Anytime I try I have a panic attack."

Wally frowned. "Maybe I can help?"

A blink. "You want to help?"

"Sure." The elder smiled in reassurance. "I've had panic attacks before. I know how to deal. Tell you what, next week, we're getting that mask off. Deal?"

"Deal." Renegade smiled a bit hesitantly. "Does this mean that we're...friends?"

Wally blinked. "Duh! We're all your friends, Ren."

"Oh."

Wally laughed good naturely and sped up until he was in front of the other. "Race you to the school!"

"No fair, West! You have powers!" Renegade argued, but complied with a childish laugh.

Friends was something that he has been yearning for for quite a while, yet he had them for nearly a month without realizing it. As Wally 'tripped' and let Renegade win the race, the boy decided that he would do anything to protect his friends. He would be the last person to ever turn traitor.

Which was ironic, considering that his name was Renegade.

xXx (After the battle) xXx

"The AMAZO android, safely being analyzed at the two separate Star Labs, but Ivo escaped. Since he originated the tech, he's arguably more dangerous than the android."

The Team had returned to the Mountain and gave their reports to Batman, who was accompanied by Black Canary, Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow. Renegade clutched the arrow that had saved KF during the battle, clenching his teeth in anger. Why did the League suddenly think they were incompetent?

"Capturing the Professor will be a League priority." Black Canary stated.

"But we understand that your mission encountered other...complications." Manhunter said, making Renegade wince. They should have been able to handle a couple of monkeys.

"Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League." Batman said, almost kindly. Renegade perked up a little at the hidden complement.

"The whole League?" Superboy asked.

"Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads." Renegade nodded at this statement, realizing now what threw the clone into a bad mood. He must of had another encounter with the man of steel, who still refused to acknowledge him. In face, he had refused to acknowledge either Cadmus projects. It didn't matter much to Renegade as he had his own possible mentor to impress. "Of course there's no shame in asking for help, that's why the League exists. There are some problems that we can't handle individually." Yeah, like Batman ever asked for help.

"Please. If we needed help, we'd never get the chance to ask. Look familiar?" He showed everyone the arrow. "Why would you follow us? Don't you trust us?"

Batman and Green Arrow shared a look. "We didn't follow you." The dark knight said evenly as the archer brought out one of his arrows.

"And that's not your arrow." Renegade flushed in embarrassment. He knew he should have scanned it! Even if he didn't trust his databases at the moment, he wasn't supposed to assume anything.

"Wait! That must mean it was Speedy!" Wally exclaimed.

Kaldur smiled. "He has our backs."

Ignoring his instinct to cower away from his databases, Renegade scanned the arrow. He was not going to assume anything else and embarrass himself further.

 **"Arrow not recognized in hero databases."** Renegade frowned and looked through the files on the Light. " **Arrow not recognized in Light databases."** The boy growled lowly, making Wally give him a strange yet concerned look. Maybe...League of Shadows? **"...Arrow recognized."** Information on Sportsmaster and his two daughters came up behind his eyes.

Renegade was about to report his findings when he saw that Batman was staring at him. The boy frowned in confusion as the man gave him a small shake of the head. He wasn't allowed to share this information? Why? Renegade scrunched up his eyebrows to show his confusion. Batman tilted his head towards Green Arrow ever so slightly. So...The archer was going to investigate? Oh, whoever shot the arrow saved Wally! They could be an ally! Renegade nodded at his mentor and looked at the others, who seemed to be staring at the two of them.

"Woah. The kid knows bat-talk." Arrow whispered, though everyone in the room heard it. Renegade went red in the face again; how long were they watching the exchange?

And what the hell was bat-talk?

xXx

 **AN: Tada! Chapter four, at your service!**

 **So on , I was asked to explore Renegade's emotions, add some Wally bro-ness, and to have Renegade go through withdrawal. The first two I believe I can happily check off, but I wish I received the last one earlier. I can have Renegade crave drugs but that's it for now. However, I believe you will be happy later on... (hint hint)**

 **On Wattpad, I was asked to make Renegade have a mental breakdown and to make his programming make him attack the team. Both of these ideas will be presented in later chapters, I assure you.**

 **Note: I'm still taking suggestions. Since there's a couple of days between each episode, i can add whatever I want. All you need to do is ask. :)**

 **Note 2: Renegade is STILL not the mole. I know it may seem that way but trust me, he isn't.**

 **Note 3: ...What pairings do you guys want? This story will not be centered around romance, I warn you, but I believe that I can put some mushy lovey dovey stuff in here. If no one cares, I'll just stick with canon. :)**


	5. One's Name

**AN: Warning, this chapter does not include scenes from any Young Justice episodes. This is my own creativity (though I still don't own anything). I hope you all don't mind!**

 **Thank you for your reviews! Here are the listed pairings and their votes:**

 **Spitfire: 6**

 **Torpedo: 2**

 **Supermartian: 5**

 **Traught: 2**

 **Chalant: 2**

 **Dibs: 2**

 **Birdflash: 2**

 **No Renegade Pairings: 4**

 **I'm still taking votes, but this is where you all stand. The future rests in your hands...Well, it rests in mine, but I'm definitely taking your opinions into consideration. :)**

xXx (Le Cave) xXx

Renegade glared at his unchanging reflection. Black hair stuck up in several directions, his skin was far too pale for his liking, and he couldn't even see what his eyes looked like. That was the point, really, but after Wally had offered to assist him in removing his mask he just couldn't ignore this anymore.

The speedster cleared his throat from behind him. "If you can't do it today, there's always tomorrow."

One hand was brought up to his face and remained at the edge of the mask. They had already used an adhesive, so physically pulling the thing off would be no problem. It was the mental affect on him that was making him hesitate. Damn his childish antics!

"I need to do this." Renegade grumbled in reply. "I can't hide from myself forever. There's no need."

Wally frowned deeply. "I've done some research. Some people with amnesia hide themselves from their past because something terrible happened that they subconsciously don't want to remember. Maybe that's what you're doing."

Renegade's thoughts went back to the flashbacks that he had been pushing to the back of his mind. "That...actually might be true." His fingers remained at the edge of his mask, but he didn't make any move to proceed with tearing the thing off. He tightened his grip on the fabric, ignoring the way his hands started to shake.

"Dude. Maybe you should-"

"I can do this." He sucked in a deep breath and peeled the corner of his mask away from his face. He immediately recoiled and nearly fell into Wally, as the bathroom space was pretty cramped.

"Don't mean to crush your hopes and dreams, but this doesn't seem to be working." Wally chuckled half heartedly and inched towards the door. "Maybe we can continue this later."

Renegade closed his eyes and sighed. He needed to get this done, but his friend was probably right. Silently, he followed the older boy into the kitchen and helped him with the task of finding some snack food. A speedster's metabolism was no joke. It was a somewhat disturbing thing to think about- someone who had to eat almost every hour in order to not starve to death.

"Have plans for tomorrow?" Renegade asked as he jumped up onto the counter.

"Nah. Wanna try again? There's no rush, remember."

Wally had repeated that same phrase the entire day, and it was starting to get irritating. Each time he heard those words he felt like snapping at his friend, but refrained. Reminding himself that Wally was only trying to help seemed to do the trick. He knew that he wasn't frustrated with his friend, but he was annoyed with how long this was taking, and he knew that it wouldn't be right to take these frustrations out on someone else.

"Thanks..."

After that, the elder one started babbling about the possibility of the League turning against them due to a zombie apocalypse. Renegade started to zone out just when he started to explain how the renegade superheroes would effect the rest of society. His thoughts were way too crowded for mental images of a zombified Batman, thanks.

"-destroyed symbol of hope-"

Hm. Renegade's thoughts wandered to the rest of the Justice League. So far, he had only wanted to get close to Batman, the enigma of the team, but found that the other members were somewhat interesting as well. Superman was number two on the list of heroes that gained Renegade's attention. He often wondered how a super powered man like him was able to roam around the Earth as if he were a normal human. He wanted to know what his identity was. Maybe it would make sense once he had it all figured out.

"And Wayne enterprises would be the only reason Gotham would still be around!"

Wait, what? "Wayne enterprises? As in the playboy idiot that only donates money to charities because it makes him look good? Bruce Wayne?"

Wally waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah, sure his personality sucks, but can you imagine what would happen to Gotham if Batman was out of commission? They would have to rely on Wayne's money to build some decent weapons in preparation against the zombies!"

A blink. "Is this what you spend your free time doing- thinking about things that probably won't happen?"

"Don't we all?" Wally grinned before continuing with his theory. "After that the Martians might have to-"

Well, at least he knew which city _not_ to go to if there ever was a zombie apocalypse. Bruce Wayne was one of the few people that Renegade actually disliked. That man was a dimwitted idiot who threw his money around to get whatever he wanted. As an orphaned child without any financial support, rich people like Wayne made him jealous.

To be honest, Wayne was the least important problem in Gotham. The entire city was someone's nightmare that sprung to life. Just watching the Gotham news gave Renegade the chills, and every twisted villain that made an appearance made him cower in fear, even though he was perfectly safe in the Mountain. As he did more research on that particular city, his respect for Batman only grew. The world needed more people like him, and _not_ Bruce Wayne.

"-the intake of carbonated beverages would then-

Renegade managed to not roll his eyes as Wally continued to ramble. They could be doing something productive right about now, like finding a way to safely remove his mask, which was a lot looser on his face than before. Since they were smart enough to use an adhesive, his mask was no longer clinging to his skin. But, this meant that if he didn't manage to pull this off himself, it would most likely fall of in his sleep or during a mission. What to do, what to do...

"-There's always the problem that he wouldn't want to inject the antidote himself, of course, so we would have to make Superboy do it for him. I think Supes would be the best choice 'cause-"

Renegade suddenly sat up straighter, the gears in his mind whirling. "Wally, you're a genius!"

The speedster gave him his trademark grin. "Oh, I know. I've been working on this plan for ages..."

Renegade shook his head. In all honesty, he had no idea what his friend was actually talking about, but the snippets of his long speech gave him an idea. "No, not that. What you were saying...He didn't want to do it himself, so Superboy would do it? Well, I can't take off my mask by myself. Maybe you can do it!"

That proud smile suddenly vanished. "Woah, what? You want me to take your mask off? Gee Ren, I don't know..."

"Oh, come on. It's perfect! If you take it off, I won't have a chance to chicken out."

Wally didn't look convinced. "Well yeah, sure, but shouldn't you be the one to do this? If you can't get it off now, it might mean that you're just not ready. Nobody is rush-"

"Nobody is rushing me, I know." Renegade cut in. "But, it will still be my decision to let you take it off. It's not going to be entirely spontaneous." At the other's set expression of concern, Renegade hastily added, "And anyways, my mask is really loose. If I don't take it off soon, it'll fall off on its own. I think it would be more of a shock if it randomly came off than if you pulled it off."

"You have a point..." Wally wrinkled his nose. "But you can still end up having a panic attack."

"Please, Wally?" Renegade whined, giving him the best pleading puppy look. It was evil, he knew; no one could resist that face.

"Oh, fine! But if this doesn't work out, don't blame me. This is all on you."

Renegade grinned. "Thanks Walls, you're the best."

"I know." The speedster stared at him uncomfortably. "So, uh, how do you want to do this?"

"Mm...Couch?"

Wally nodded and walked into the living room. Renegade jumped down from the counter and did the same, plopping onto the couch next to his friend. Once seated, Renegade turned his entire body so that he was facing Wally and tucked his knees under himself. The older boy brought his own legs into a crisscrossed position. "Tell me when you're ready."

"I'm ready." He responded immediately.

"Alright..." Wally smiled hesitantly and reached out to grab the edges of Renegade's mask. It was only when he felt the contact that the reality of what was about to happen registered in the younger boy's head. He sucked in a sharp breath and closed his eyes tightly. Maybe it wasn't too late to back out-

Without further warning, his mask was pulled right off of his face. Cool air fell onto the boy's eyelids as he closed his eyes even tighter than before. Okay, so it was definitely too late to back out. That was okay. He could handle this. He could.

Not.

"Renegade? Dude, you okay?"

Breathing was becoming such a difficult task. His breaths came in short intervals, his palms were sweaty, his body was shaking, dizziness settled in his head somewhere, and his heart was beating much too loudly. Why? All he did was take off a stupid mask!

"You're scaring me now."

He was distantly aware of himself speaking back to his friend to assure him that he was okay, but his words seemed to further panic the elder boy. Perhaps he said it wrong? The speedster shouted something to him, but it sounded like gibberish. The garbled words brought a sharp pain up to his skull, and he hissed at his friend to shut up so that he could calm himself down. His vision blurred after that, but he knew that Wally was no longer there. Maybe his eyes were so strange that he scared his friend away. The logical part of Renegade's mind pointed out that that was the least likely scenario, but he ignored it.

Consciousness was overrated, he decided, as he finally allowed himself to close his eyes.

 _"You can't hide forever, child..."_

 _A boy with black hair blinked tiredly as his arms were strapped down onto the medical table. A scientist loomed over him, the drugs morphing his appearance to exaggerate his height. The child whined lowly and moved his head to the side as the man attempted to grab his domino mask._

 _"Leave him." A man painted in shadows walked into his line of sight and glared at the scientist. "You are lucky that I am still allowing you to use him for drugs. He belongs to me, and you know that I ordered for his identity to remain secret."_

 _The scientist rolled his eyes. "And you are lucky that the experiment managed to slip that mask on before his capture, or you would not have the opportunity to be buying anyone. If we really wanted to, we could go into our databases and see just who this child is."_

 _"And risk angering the Light? Please." A soft chuckle rang out, making the boy shiver. He did not like either of these people. They were scary._

 _"Hmph." The scientist moved his greasy hair out of his face and straightened his posture to make himself look superior. "And have you decided on a name for this experiment?"_

 _The man nodded and came closer to the boy, though his image was still too distorted to make out. "Yes." The boy suddenly found himself face to face with the man. "Now, Renegade, I have an order for you to follow. Never take that mask of yours off. If you do, there will be...consequences."_

 _The threatening tone in that command made the boy, Renegade, swallow nervously as he nodded. Keep mask on. He could do that. The mask could stay on for the rest of his life, for all he cared..._

 _The scientist did not look amused. "Renegade, huh? Meaning traitor?"_

 _The man smirked and walked away from the strapped down experiment. "Yes, because Renegade will betray anyone that isn't his true master. I will make sure of that."_

 _Other images flashed by..._

 _Renegade saw himself sitting in a dirty cell, singing a lullaby in effort to soothe himself into sleep. A second later, he saw a group of women trying to teach him how to wield a sword, but later found that he worked best with escrima sticks. He watched as he yearned for someone to praise him, saw the many times he chewed on his nails to help against his hunger, and the time he was finally presented his Renegade uniform..._

"Renegade!"

The boy forced his eyes open and squinted against the harsh light. At someone's barked orders, the light eventually dimmed and allowed him to see his surroundings. Huh, he was in the living room. He must have fallen asleep while watching a movie or something.

"I'll go to my room..." he muttered sleepily, already bringing himself up into a sitting position. He was more than a little surprised when a pair of hands gently pushed him back down. Was he in trouble?

"You just had a panic attack. Stay down." So, it was Batman who had pushed him down.

"Panic attack...?" Renegade blinked. Why would watching a movie give him a panic attack? Unless the film somehow provoked an emotional response due to a flashback, he wasn't sure how a simple movie could have done this. That movie must've been intense.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "What do you remember?"

"Give me a minute..." He brought a hand up to his head and frowned. Usually, flashbacks gave him a headache. Since he didn't have one, he could rule out his previous theory. But, he couldn't remember anything that could have done this...

"Here, put these on." Sunglasses were suddenly shoved into his direction, and Renegade blinked yet again when he realized that the man was blocking his view from the small group of gathered heroes behind the couch.

"Why would I need these? I have a ma-" As he was saying these words, his hand fell onto his naked eyes. His heart picked up its pace as he felt feathery eyelashes under his fingertips. He moved his hand up a little and traced what he knew was an eyebrow. But...He wasn't allowed to take his mask off!

That's when he remembered the dream. "No..."

"Renegade?"

 _"Never take that mask of yours off."_

"...He's going to kill me."

"Who?" A steady hand fell onto one of his shoulders, and Renegade flinched visibly. "Renegade, you need to talk."

"He told me that I wasn't allowed to take off my mask...and I did." Renegade shivered violently.

Batman eased him back onto the couch. The gentleness in the action would have confused him in a normal circumstance, but he wouldn't dwell on it right now. "Who told you that? Desmond?" Renegade slowly shook his head, and Batman narrowed his eyes even further. "It was the man who was supposed to buy you, wasn't it?"

Hearing that out of someone else's mouth seemed to break the dam. Renegade let out a loud sob and threw his arms around the dark knight without thinking. He needed comfort; he was scared out of his mind. Batman seemed to stiffen at the sudden contact, but ended up hesitantly returning the hug. "It'll be okay. No one is going to hurt you. They'll have to get through me and the entire League before they'll ever get near you. Okay?"

"Okay." Renegade pulled away and hastily wiped away his tears. His face burned as he realized with humiliation that everyone in the room saw this little mental breakdown. "Sorry..."

Batman shook his head. "Don't be. You have every right to be upset Renegade." He stared at him blankly before asking, "I believe you might want to see your reflection now?"

Renegade swallowed thickly. His reflection might bring his memories back, and that scared him still. But, the determination to get through this was stronger than his fear. After a quick mental argument with himself, he finally nodded at Batman. "Yeah. I didn't take my mask off just for the fun of it. I'll just go to the bathroom real quick..."

"No need." Batman held up a small mirror in his hand. "Canary had Kid Flash bring this over when they thought I was distracted."

The boy glanced over to the back of the couch but saw that the other heroes had cleared out. "They left?"

"I told them to leave if you took this badly. I didn't believe that you would be keen on others being present if you were to have another panic attack."

That was...thoughtful. Wow. "Um. Thanks, Bats."

"It's Batman." The vigilante narrowed his eyes. "And if people heard that I let you get away with something like a nickname..."

"So in other words, I can call you whatever as long as it's just us?" Renegade grinned when the man didn't argue. "Pssh. And people call you heartless."

"I'm not heartless. My heart is just two sizes too small."

Renegade's eyes widened. "What- Was that a 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' reference?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The man said evenly, but his lips were pointed upwards slightly.

"Can't fool me, Bats." Renegade laughed. "Now I know your secret identity."

While he couldn't see it, he was sure that Batman was rising his eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"Uh huh. You're definitely Dr. Seuss."

Batman chuckled lightly, a foreign sound that made Renegade's smile widen. "You caught me. Just promise me that you won't tell anyone. Green Arrow wouldn't hear the end of it."

Renegade laughed again. "No way! I'm telling the press about this. They'll totally believe it."

"You're right. We are talking about the same people who believed that I was a time traveling Abraham Lincoln."

"...Abe Lincoln?! Really?!" Renegade was nearly howling with laughter. "You have to be kidding me."

"I wish I was." Batman smiled. "But that's a story for later. Here," he handed the mirror over to the teen, who managed to catch a glimpse of his face as it moved.

"Right." Renegade's smile faded as he held the mirror up to his face. The sunglasses were still over his eyes, so he didn't have to worry about that just yet. His eyebrows, however, were able to escape the coverage of the sunglasses. Red lines covered his cheeks, and he traced them with the pad of his finger with a small frown. "What happened here?"

"Kid Flash said that during your panic attack, you started to speak in a foreign language. When he tried to get you to calm down, you started screaming and used your finger nails to scratch your face. Wallace decided at that point that it was time to call the League."

Renegade winced. "Who came?"

"Me, Black Canary, and Martian Manhunter."

Black Canary and Manhunter must have shown up to make sure that he was still mentally intact. It also might've been J'onn that knocked him out, as he was wide awake for the longest of times. They probably thought that it was necessary so that he would be unable to hurt himself again. "So, uh, why did you come?"

Batman frowned. "Did you not want me to?"

"No, it's not like that. I'm just confused. The other two had a reason to be here."

"My reason of being here was because I was...concerned."

Concerned. Uh, okay? "I didn't think you'd care." Renegade admitted.

Batman stared at him. "Why would you assume that I don't care?"

"Because you're Batman. You're not supposed to care."

A sigh. "Well, I do." He glanced away, looking distant. "We have something to discuss later. Right now, you have something else to do."

Oh, right. He wasn't sure if he was purposely distracting himself from his reflection or if it was completely accidental. It was probably the former. "Okay."

He stared at his reflection and sighed. Yay, he was right back at square one, confronting this all on his own. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to convince Batman to take the sunglasses off of him. The dark knight would want him to be strong and do it himself...

But, he didn't want to. As he stared at his own face in the mirror, his hand began to shake again. The thought of seeing his entire face was still completely frightening. What if he had another panic attack? What if the man that paid to buy him found out about this and actually hunted him down? What if-

A steady hand on his shoulder anchored him to the real world. His gaze went to the area of the mirror that showed the dark knight, and saw that he was simply staring at him. The man obviously didn't know how to comfort someone, but the fatherly gesture he performed was enough. Renegade smiled at him weakly and turned his gaze back to his own face. He could do this.

His fingers pinched the frame of the sunglasses...

 _'Never take your mask off.'_

Renegade took in a sharp breath and hesitated. The shadowy figure of the man came into his mind, pushing away all other thoughts. The man's smirk, chuckle, voice, and posture all made Renegade nervous. The added affect of the drugs did nothing for his fear, it only added on to it.

"Renegade." The boy glanced over at the dark knight, who squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't think about him. Remember the good times, not the bad."

The good times, huh? There was one specific memory that he could think of, and it was a recent one, too.

 _"Does this mean that we're...friends?"_

 _Wally blinked. "Duh! We're all your friends, Ren."_

 _"Oh."_

Friends. After he had spent a year with Cadmus, he gave up on the idea of spending time with people around his own age. As the years dragged on, the thought of people hanging out and doing things together was a ridiculous idea. How could anyone be so carefree in such a messed up world? It was drilled into his head that Cadmus was the only safe place in the world...

After he escaped, he was still reluctant to become attached to anyone. His mind was still stuck on the notion that everyone on Earth was corrupt in some way. When his new teammates managed to show him that this was untrue, saying that he was shocked would be a huge understatement. And then when they started to show that they cared for him, he didn't know what to do.

 _'No one is going to hurt you. They'll have to get through me and the entire League before they'll ever get near you."_

He never felt this...safe. It was new. Having people that allowed him to eat at every meal, who periodically checked in on him, and provided him with a warm bed was a million times better than what he was used to. Even Batman, the coldest man in the League, went out of his way to assure Renegade that he was safe. It was...

It was great.

Renegade slowly removed the sunglasses and opened his eyes after a few tense seconds. He almost didn't recognize himself; it was a totally different thing to see himself without something covering a portion of his face. He blinked his blue eyes a couple of times before examining them closely. He had always liked the color blue, put he found that this particular shade was quite extraordinary. If they weren't his own eyes, he would call them pretty. They were bright and shining, showing the world an innocence that hasn't been there for years. He liked them.

"That was anticlimactic." Renegade mumbled.

Batman chuckled. "What were you expecting? Bright red eyes?"

"No." Yes. "But I thought that maybe my eyes would trigger some memories. Nothing happened."

"It triggered memories." At the boy's confused look, Batman explained. "Didn't you have a flashback after you took your mask off?"

Oh, right. Those. "Yeah. I think my panic triggered those, though. It's whatever. I'm not complaining over memories that I don't really need."

"They're memories that you don't _want._ " Batman corrected. "And on that topic, have you remembered anything new since our last talk?"

Renegade quickly went over the flashbacks that he had, which only included the visions of his family camping trip, and the sounds he heard whenever he thought of the circus. When he spoke of the circus, Batman sat up straighter and demanded that he described his parents features. "Well, um, my mom had blonde hair and blue eyes." Renegade had his mother's eyes, he realized with a smile. "My dad had black hair and hazel eyes." He also had his father's hair. He was almost a perfect blend of the two.

Batman narrowed his eyes and suddenly produced a holo screen in front of him. The man typed furiously on his keyboard until the images of Renegade's parents appeared on the screen. His heart beat loudly in his chest as he finally got a good look at the two of them. His flashbacks usually blurred their faces so that their features weren't as recognizable. Now, however... "Are those your parents?" Batman asked, staring at him with such intensity that it made him nervous.

"Yes." He replied softly, staring at their pictures. "Are they...alive?"

Batman fixed his eyes on the screen as well, not meeting the boy's gaze. "No." He said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Renegade nodded slowly and looked down, ignoring the sudden pain in his chest. He was already suspicious that his parents were deceased- how else would Cadmus have gotten him? He knew his parents loved him and wouldn't intentionally give him away. As he remembered the camping trip from all of those years ago, his eyes strung. "Wha-" his voice broke and he had to compose himself again. "What were their names?"

"John and Mary Grayson."

"Grayson..." Renegade furrowed his brow. The image of two adults flying through the sky on a trapeze burned into his mind. "What's my name, then?"

"Richard Grayson."

"Dick Grayson." Renegade corrected without thinking. Immediately afterwards, he realized what he said and smiled. "Wow. I already knew my name. That's...wow."

Batman nodded. "We were already suspicious that you knew more about yourself than you thought. Without your mask, it's possible that your flashbacks will come more frequently."

"Right..." Wanting to get off of the subject of his memory loss, Renegade said, "So...You had something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Suddenly, the air changed. "Yes." A moment of silence, and then, "I've been meaning to ask you something of great importance."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"I've seen you fight. You're excellent with hand to hand combat, your acrobatics are a definite advantage, and your hacking skills are above average."

Woah. He didn't get just one compliment from Batman, but _three_. This must be very important. "Um, thanks..."

Batman nodded stiffly and continued, "I spoke with Canary, and she believes that my choice is an excellent one. So now, I must ask: do you want to train with me?"

A blink.

And then another.

Finally, "Sorry, what?"

Batman sighed, probably annoyed that he had to repeat himself. "I want to be your mentor. You have potential, and it would be an honor if you were to become my protege."

The gears in Renegade's mind were working furiously to understand the situation. Since when did Batman even want a protege?! The dark knight doesn't like children! Was this some sort of test? Was this a bad prank? What. Was. Going. On?

"Um." Was the intelligent response he came up with.

"I don't need an answer right now. I hope that you'll consider my offer."

"So, you're serious? You really want me to be your protege?"

Batman stared at him. "That's what I said. I don't wish to repeat myself a third time."

"That's..." Renegade shook his head. "I mean, yes. My answer is yes."

The dark knight frowned. "I think you should think about it before you come to a decision."

Renegade laughed. "Are you kidding me?! You're practically my mentor already! I learned more from you in the past month than what I've been taught the past five years!" He jumped up from the couch, nearly bouncing up and down with excitement.

Batman looked as though he had no idea what to do. "I'm...glad to hear that." He said, though it sounded more like a question. A smile finally graced his face again. "Then it's settled. Pack your things."

"What?" Renegade froze. "I'll be living with you?"

A nod. "Yes. When you're up for it, we can go to the police station and have you be declared alive again." He frowned. "And I suppose that I should register you for school..."

The boy stared at him, shocked. "Woah. Does this mean that you're going to show me your secret ID?"

"Yes. Manhunter checked your mind for programming, and deemed you safe. I trust you with my identity."

"...Um." Wow, two major shocks in one day, both occurring within the hour. Not only was he going to be living with Batman, but he was also going to be allowed to become a normal member of society. Well, as normal as someone can be with his occupation . "How am I going to explain to the police where I've been this entire time?"

"Leave that to me." He gestured to the nearby hallway. "Go get your things. I'll show you the Bat Cave as soon as you come back."

Wow...the Bat Cave!?

xXx (Le Bat Cave) xXx

Turns out, the Bat Cave was a lot bigger than he originally thought, which is saying something. Renegade's eyes widened as he took in his surroundings, from the giant computer a few meters away, to the Batmobile that sat on a rotating platform. He was especially interested in the bats that hung from the ceiling. He briefly wondered if they were trained to do anything or if they were only there for the emphasis on the bat.

"What do you think?" Batman asked. Renegade noticed that from moment they stepped foot in there, the dark knight sounded somewhat kinder. It was interesting.

"Do you even have to ask? This place is beyond awesome, heavy on the awe."

A sudden noise by the staircase made Renegade spin around, automatically reaching for his weapons. He was a bit surprised to see an old man coming towards them. Batman put a reassuring hand on his shoulder once he noticed the reaction. "It's okay, he's a friend."

...Friend? Batman had _friends_? What kind of world did he accidentally step into?

"Ah, I see you have returned with a guest. I suppose you finally asked him?"

Batman nodded. "Yes. And he's not a guest, he'll be staying with us from now on."

"I see..." the elderly man smiled down at Renegade. "My apologies, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Alfred."

Renegade nodded. "I'm Rene-" he paused. Civilian names, right? "I'm Richard, but I go by Dick."

"Very well, Master Dick." Wait. Master? What. "I will lead you to your room after you have a talk with Master Batman." He looked at Batman, and rose his eyebrows slightly. Batman's shoulders rose up in a quick shrug. Huh. Maybe silent communication was what people referred to as bat-talk. Doesn't everyone do it, though?

As Alfred disappeared upstairs, Batman turned to look at him. "I don't think I need to tell you that you're not allowed to tell anyone my identity, do I?"

"No, sir."

Batman nodded, though looked a little uneasy at the 'sir' thing. Rene- ahem- Dick mentally made a note on that, wondering what it was about. "And, you won't be able to reveal your own identity to anyone either."

Dick blinked. "Why not?"

"Because as soon as you're legally alive, the media will be all over it. It would be easy to link your identity to mine."

The media? Well, he could see people being interested in someone who came back from the dead after being away for several years. And he could definitely understand his mentor's paranoia- the Bat didn't need his identity being revealed because of some kid.

His smile widened. Batman was his _mentor_ now!

"Okay, I understand. Anything else?"

"No." The man grabbed his cowl and moved to take it off.

Renegade watched with growing curiosity. He has seen all sorts of theories on the internet, all ranging with levels of ridiculousness. He's heard of normal ones, like certain celebrities and movie stars that have the same height and voice of the dark knight. However, there were several idiotic ones that always made him laugh when he thought about them. Batman being the Joker in disguise was one of his favorites. He also loved the theory that Batman was a ghost who was bent on revenge against the person who murdered him, and decided to take down every living criminal while he was at it.

But, the most ridiculous one was saying that the great Batman was actually Bruce-

The cowl was off.

-Wayne.

The now unmasked Batman smiled at him. "My name is-"

"Bruce Wayne." Dick said, staring at him. The media thing made a lot of sense now.

Instead of looking annoyed, Wayne nodded. "Yes. I'm guessing that you've heard of me?"

"Well, yeah..." Remembering all of the times that he made fun of Bruce for being a wimp, Dick paled.

Bruce frowned in concern. "Are you okay? You look ill. Do you need to lie down?"

Slowly shaking his head, Dick responded, "No, I'm good." He continued to stare. "You're seriously Bruce Wayne?"

The responding chuckle made the boy even more suspicious. "Last time I checked, that was my name. What, a rich man can't be a vigilante?"

And now Batman was making _jokes_? What? "...Would it be alright if I said no?"

Bruce laughed even more at that comment. "I know it must be shocking. Seriously, Superman wouldn't even believe me until I beat him up with a bit of Kryptonite."

Dick narrowed his eyes. "I hope this doesn't mean that you're going to beat me up too."

"Of course not. I think you'll come to terms with it yourself." The man smiled at him kindly and began to walk towards the staircase. "I bet Alfred made us some food. Coming?"

"Yeah...Give me a minute?" The man nodded in understanding and left the room to give him some space. Dick ran a hand through his hair as soon as he was alone, trying to wrap his head around everything. This was...too much. Way too much. "Bruce Wayne is Batman. Okay...I can deal with that. Ha."

Yeah, he could so deal with that, as long as-

 **"Updating information..."**

His heartbeat quickened as the voice thundered in his head.

 **"Batman, aka Bruce Wayne. Owner of Wayne Enterprises. Weaknesses- Unknown. Attacks- Master at hand to hand combat and is equipped with weapons. Suggestion- Use 'Alfred' as leverage. Sacrifice may be needed to destroy."**

Shi-

"Master Dick?" Dick slowly turned around as the elderly man returned. "I apologize for rushing you, but your food is getting cold."

Dick looked down. "Sorry Alfred, but I don't think I'll be eating."

"Oh. I was not told that you have already eaten. Do not fret, I'm sure Master Bruce-"

"It's not that." Dick interrupted. "I can't stay here. I'm leaving."

Alfred looked concerned, even though they just met. "May I ask why you are leaving?"

"I can't be trusted." He sighed. "Bats shouldn't have told me his identity."

"Are you planning on telling anyone who he is?"

Dick frowned, offended. "Of course not."

"Then how is it that you cannot be trusted?" Silence. "Master Dick, if I may, I wish to explain something to you."

"Okay..."

A sad smile. "Master Bruce lost his parents when he was a little boy, and has been rather distant with everyone ever since." He sighed. "I was very worried about his well-being, especially after he decided to dress up in a costume, calling himself 'Batman.' It seemed as though becoming a hero only made him more distrustful." He put a hand on Dick's shoulder, smiling again. "So, you can only imagine my surprise when he decided to take on a protege."

"I don't understand what you're trying to tell me." Dick muttered. He hated it when adults didn't get to the point.

Alfred made a noise that almost sounded like laughter, but it was quickly muted. "Batman, the most paranoid man in the world, trusts you completely. I think that's enough to go off on, yes?"

"Oh." A small smile. "I guess so."

Alfred nodded. "Then, come. If you remain down here any longer, you will worry Master Bruce."

"Okay, Alfie." Ignoring the miffed look that he received for the nickname, Dick bounded up the stairs with a fake bout of laughter. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he thought back to the words that The Man had said.

 _'Renegade will betray anyone who isn't his true master.'_

What a crappy destiny...

xXx

 **AN: Aaaand...Done! This chapter is finally complete! Go me!**

 **Sorry that there wasn't any action in here. I would have added scenes from the next episode, but this chapter is already over 6000 words. Add on the next episode, and...Yeah, I'm not sure if anyone wants to read that long of a chapter.**

 **Note: I'm still taking requests. There are days between each episode, so I can add whatever I want. This chapter here is a prime example. I wanted it, so I added it. Yaaay.**

 **Note 2: Renegade still isn't the mole. I know, I know, this is probably really confusing. I understand that I'm seriously laying down hints that he's the mole...Well, maybe I've been lying to you guys this entire time. Who knows at this point?**

 **Note 3: I'm still accepting requests for pairings. :)**


	6. Meeting of Moles

**AN: Um. This chapter took a lot longer than my other ones. Sorry about that.**

 **I know y'all don't want to hear about my life, but I'm gonna tell you anyways. See, my phone, my only device that has internet, broke. During my struggle to purchase a new one I was unable to post any knew chapters. Again, I apologize. I'm usually awesome when it comes to updating. (Yeah, I just complimented myself. I do that.)**

 **Okay, here are the current pairing votes (both wattpad and FF):**

 **Spitfire (KFxArty): 19**

 **Torpedo (RocketxAqualad): 6**

 **Supermartian (ConnorxM'gann): 13**

 **Traught (DickxArty): 3**

 **Chalant (DickxZatanna): 5**

 **Dibs (DickxBarbra): 5**

 **Birdflash (KFxDick): 12**

 **Museum Heist (KFxArtyxDick): 1**

 **SeaArrow (KaldurxArty): 1**

 **Zatanna/Klarion: 1**

 **Bat/Cat: 1**

 **No Renegade Pairings: 17**

 **Votes are still open! Thank you for your comments and votes. You guys are amazing. As a gift for being so patient, I give to you...Chapter six!**

xXx (Le Beach) xXx

Beaches were fun, as Renegade soon found out. When he informed the rest of the team that he figured out his identity, everyone was ecstatic and insisted that they should celebrate the occasion.

By everyone, he meant M'gann.

Even though his friends were slightly disappointed over not being able to learn about his identity, they still showed excitement over his journey towards citizenship. Even though he's been on the team for little over a month, he still felt over enthusiastic whenever his friends showed that they cared. How things have changed since he was stuck in the corner of a lonely cell. These days, he had friends, a parental figure, a roof over his head, and he was even going to start school. Weird.

"Hello M'gann, we should go to the beach everyday!" The Martian girl exclaimed as she stretched her arms up to the blue sky above the beach.

"First, let us have a moment of silence for our missing teammate." Renegade said, morphing his features to look sympathetic. On the inside, though, he was snickering at his friend's misfortune.

"Poor Wally." M'gann said softly, actually sounding like she felt bad for the guy. School couldn't be that bad, right?

"Yeah, whatever." Superboy didn't sound very concerned either. "Let's just swim."

Renegade grinned and ran towards the water, throwing his shirt off as he did so. "Last one in has to kiss the Joker!"

xXx (Nananana Batman!) xXx

"So, where has this kid been this entire time?"

Bruce was sitting across from Commissioner Gordon in his office, trying to get through the process of legally declaring Dick alive. "Cadmus. He was one of the escaped experiments. I'm sure that you've seen it on the news."

"Of course I have." Gordon looked mildly annoyed. "But why are we just now getting word about this boy when all experiments were released last month?"

"The League found the boy. They remembered that I was particularly desperate in his search and believed that the best course of action would be to bring him to me. Since Dick wasn't in the right state of mind, I decided to wait until he was mentally well before I brought any of this up."

"Regardless of his mental state, you should have informed the police."

Yet, the police are incompetent with everything else... "I apologize. I wasn't thinking very clearly. I was only happy that I was presented with the opportunity to adopt Dick again."

"Hm." He changed subjects. "I understand that he has memory issues."

"Yes, but as of now, they are being taken care of."

"I hope that means you got him a therapist."

"Yes." Black Canary was the best therapist he has ever seen, not that he would ever say that out loud.

Gordon sighed. "We can legally declare that he's alive, but it'll take a while for the paperwork to go through. On top of that, you need to talk to social services in order to get your guardianship renewed. Then you have to have Dick take a placement test for school...If there ever was a time to throw your money around to get your way, now would be that time. You're looking at months of waiting."

You know things are bad when a police officer tells you to bribe people. Ladies and gentlemen, Gotham City! "I understand. Thank you for all of your help. I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. I saw how you were when the kid first disappeared. It would take a fool not to see how much you care. If there's anything else I can do, all you need to do is ask. Just bring Dick in for a few questions and we'll take it from there."

Bruce smiled politely as he stood, extending his hand to the other man. "Thank you, but I can't possibly ask you for anything else. You've been a good friend these past few years."

Gordon returned the smile and shook his hand. "It's no problem at all. You really saved my ass when I was trying to get Barbara into Gotham Academy. I didn't even have to ask, you gave me all the money I needed! If I can help in any way, I want to."

"That's not necessary..." Bruce paused. "Actually, I do have something I need help with. Do you think that you and Barbara can come over for dinner tonight?"

Gordon seemed to understand what he was actually asking. "I'll talk to her when I get home. I'm sure that it can be arranged."

Bruce smiled a little more widely this time, not entirely faked. "Wonderful. I'll see you later this evening. Tell the family I said hi, will you?"

"Of course. Take care, Mr. Wayne."

"You too." With that, Bruce excited the room and made his way outside of the GCPD. While he started the car, he allowed himself to feel a sliver of anxiety. How would Dick react to meeting someone that wasn't involved in the hero business?

Hopefully, the night would end with his protege making a new friend.

xXx (Back to le beach) xXx

The rest of the fun filled afternoon was spent playing a few games of volleyball, and burying Superboy in the sand. Renegade wasn't sure how they were able to get the clone to agree to such a thing, but it happened. Too bad he didn't take a picture. He suddenly had the idea of starting a superhero blog, where all he would do is post ridiculous pictures of everyone he knew.

Ahem. Back to the present.

Soon after they dug Superboy up, Batman came out, saying that the League has decided to allow a new teen to join the team. Renegade was already told about this new teammate before he came to the cave, so he wasn't as surprised as his friends. But, the thing that really took him off guard was way that his mentor stood. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Batman seemed to be in a pleasant mood.

The team quickly changed into their correct uniforms as soon as they came into the mountain and met up with each other in the mission room. Seconds later, two figures stepped out of a zeta tube, one being Green Arrow and the other being-

"This is your new teammate- Artemis." Batman stated. "As of today, she will be assisting you in your missions."

Artemis was a girl of average height with brown eyes, and blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. Although her stance was relaxed, Renegade could tell that she was ready to shoot an arrow at moment's notice. That wasn't too surprising, considering who she was related to. Like his training with assassins, things you learn with the League of Shadows stay with you for life.

 **"Artemis Crock- potential ally spotted."** A deep metallic voice said in Renegade's head. Renegade frowned at this, unsure if Artemis being a potential ally was a good thing or not. Technically speaking, it was an _evil computer chip_ that made the comment.

 _"Recognized: Kid Flash, B03."_

Wally stepped out of the glowing zeta tube, a wide range of beach related items stacked in his arms. "The Wall-Man is here! Let's get this party start-"

Renegade could barely hold back a snicker as his friend went crashing onto the floor, his items scattering around him. The beach ball that he was carrying bounced towards Red Tornado and Batman, both who did not look amused.

Silence.

"-ted..." Wally finished lamely, blushing.

Artemis smirked. "Wall-Man, huh? Wow, love the uniform. What, exactly, are your powers?"

Wally pushed himself off of the ground half-glared at Artemis. "Uh, who is this?" He asked, eyes moving from one person to the next. When his gaze landed on Renegade, his glare disappeared and was replaced by pure relief. Oops, it looked like no one told Wally that he wasn't psychotic anymore. Since Wally already knew what he looked like, hopefully Renegade would be able to tell him everything...

"Artemis, your new teammate." The blonde said snobbishly.

Wally forced a grin. "Kid Flash. Never heard of you."

Green Arrow decided to take that moment to step forward and put a hand on Artemis's shoulder. "Uh, she's my new protege."

Wally's eyes widened fractionally. "But what happened to your old one?"

"Well for starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore." A redhead with a black and red uniform and a bow and quiver on his back stepped out of a zeta tube. Renegade studied him carefully, somehow not having any data on this guy whatsoever. An uncomfortable buzz formed in the back of his mind as he stared at the archer. Something was wrong... "Call me Red Arrow."

Green Arrow smiled warmly and stepped forward. "Roy." He greeted cheerfully. "You look-"

"Replaceable." Red supplied with a scowl.

Renegade narrowed his eyes. He's felt that buzz before, usually when he's trying to hack into a strongly defended device. Renegade focused on the feeling and found that the buzz was coming from-

"It's not like that. You told me you were going solo!" Green said, interrupting Renegade's thoughts. Dick frowned at a sudden thought and glanced at Batman. Would there ever be a time where his mentor would replace him?

Roy growled. "So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?"

Artemis's expression hardened. "Yes, she can."

"Who are you?" Wally asked suddenly. Renegade rose a brow. Didn't anyone let the other kids know who Artemis really was?

"I'm his niece." She answered the same time Green Arrow said, "She's my niece."

Really, that was the best they could come up with? Renegade snorted. "Another niece?" He asked, but backed off when his mentor shot him a subtle glare. For some reason, Artemis's identity was to remain secret.

"She's not your replacement." Aqualad said calmly. "We have always wanted you on this team and we have no quota on archers."

"And if we did, you know who we'd pick." Wally said, not bothering to sweeten his words.

Renegade saw a flicker of hurt cross the female archer's face. Wow, way to gang up on the newbie. It wasn't her fault that Roy was feeling replaced. "Whatever Baywatch." Artemis said coolly. "I'm here to stay."

Red Arrow seemed to have had enough of this and turned to leave, only stopping when Aqualad stepped into his path. "You came to us for a reason." He said calmly.

"Yeah, a reason named Dr. Serling Rouqette." Red informed him.

Renegade knew this name, but not from his databases. This time, he simply watched the news to get this information. Grinning slightly, Renegade started to bring up a holoscreen with the Doctor's information on it. "Rouqette? She's a nano-robotics genius who teaches at Royal University in Star City!" He couldn't contain his excitement, proud of himself for not relying on his computer chip so much. "She vanished two weeks ago!"

"Abducted two weeks ago." Red corrected, looking unimpressed. "By the League of Shadows."

Artemis's expression allowed a trace of fear to bloom before it completely vanished.

"Woah, you want us to rescue her from the Shadows? Hardcore." He turned towards Renegade and shared a fist bump with him, grinning widely. Renegade returned the grin, excitement reigniting. The League of Shadows would be the biggest challenge that they have faced so far, but with Renegade's experience with assassins-

"I already rescued her." Oh. "There's only one problem." Roy walked over to the screen. "The Shadows have already coerced her to create a weapon." Red pressed a button and a new display came up on the screen, showing a picture of a bug shaped weapon along with a container.

"Doc calls it the Fog. Compromised of millions of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators, capable of disintegrating anything in their path. Concrete, steel, flesh, bone...But it's main purpose isn't mere destruction. It's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system, and deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows. Providing them access to weapons, strategic defenses, cutting edge science and tech-"

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, powerhousing...Yeah, sounds like the Shadows." Artemis finished. Renegade rolled his eyes under his mask. She was obviously trying to make herself seem more important by showing off her knowledge.

Wally looked unamused. "Like you know anything about the Shadows." He said smugly. At Artemis's knowing smirk, his smile fell. "Who are you?!"

"Rouqette's working on a virus to render the Fog insert." Red said, ignoring the bickering two.

Renegade frowned. "But if the Shadows know that she can do that, they'll-"

"They'll target her." Roy interrupted coldly. Renegade scowled at the older boy spitefully. Was he this mean to everyone, or was it only reserved for him and Artemis? "Right now she's off grid. I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab."

Green Arrow looked horrified. "You left her alone?"

"She's safe enough for now." Roy said with another glare. Renegade mentally added Green Arrow to the list of people that Roy apparently hated.

Green Arrow walked over to his former protege. "Let's you and I keep it that way."

"You and I?" Red said in disbelief. "Don't you want to take your new protege?"

Green Arrow looked as though he wanted to argue against that, but went silent when Batman put a hand on his shoulder. The two of them shared a meaningful look and Arrow finally looked defeated. "You brought this to the Team." He said forcefully. "It's their mission which means it's hers now, too."

"Pfft. Then my job's done." Roy said coolly and walked into a zeta tube.

 _"Recognized: Speedy-"_

"That's Red Arrow, B06- update." Roy hissed as he disappeared in the light. As he vanished, the buzz in Renegade's head left as well. Renegade disregarded it, deciding that Roy must've had some new equipment with him.

But he swore he felt something coming from Roy's head...

Batman suddenly spoke. "You have a mission, correct?"

Aqualad nodded and made his way to the bioship, the other teens following behind. Renegade hesitated before doing the same, deciding that he could tell Batman about his findings later.

xXx

When they arrived at the high school, they broke off into groups who would either guard Dr. Rouqette, or patrol the perimeter. Renegade was stationed with Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Artemis in the room that held Dr. Rouqette.

After introductions, Aqualad spoke to M'gann. "Miss Martian, link us up. We do not want the Shadows intercepting our comms."

Immediately, Renegade felt a familiar presence in his mind, belonging to M'gann. Seconds later, the feeling of his teammates's consciousnesses settled into his mind as well. The two foreign links were those of the Doctor and Artemis.

 _"Everyone online?"_ Miss Martian questioned.

 _"Ah. This is weird."_ Artemis complained.

 _"And distracting."_ The unfamiliar voice of Dr. Rouqette almost made Renegade jump _. "Coding a distributed virus on a kiddy computer with less RAM then a wristwatch is hard enough. Now I have to hear teen think in my skull?"_

As if they were overjoyed in the prospect of listening to her complain...

Kid Flash rolled his eyes as he swallowed a bite of his granola bar. _"Lady, do you always complain when someone wants to help you?"_

Artemis silently snorted. _"Pot, kettle. Have you met?"_

 _"Hey, hey! I do not need attitude from the newbie that threw Red Arrow off the Team."_

 _"That is so not on me!"_

 _"Fate of the WORLD at stake?!"_ Rouqette snapped suddenly.

Kid's energy spiked at that moment, signaling that if the two weren't separated, things wouldn't end well. _"She started it!"_ He said in a near growl. Renegade rolled his eyes. How did they go from a fighting married couple to three year olds?

 _"How about I just help Miss Martian and Superboy patrol the perimeter?"_ Artemis suggested.

 _"Good idea."_ Aqualad said coldly. Renegade had to admit that he was surprised by the Atlantian's unfriendliness. Either he was completely fed up with the arguing, or he truly disliked Artemis.

Not cool. Feeling a bit protective over his new teammate, Renegade turned towards KF. _"You might want to cut her some slack. It was her arrow that saved your butt against Amazo."_

The speedster nearly choked on his snack. _"What?! No! That was Speedy's- I mean, Red Arrow's arrow, right?"_

 _"Hmm...Not so much."_

 _"Well, I'm still not giving her the satisfaction!"_

Renegade smirked as Artemis spoke again, _"You know I can still hear you."_

KF groaned loudly and smacked his forehead while Renegade quietly snickered at his misfortune.

Rouqette sighed. _"I couldn't get the Justice League."_

Aqualad ignored the spiteful comment _. "The virus won't be much use if we cannot find the weapon. Can you track it?"_

Frustration flared through Rouqette's link. _"My utility fog is not a weapon!"_ She defended. _"It's science, brilliant science, and of course I can track it! But I'd have to go online. We might as well rent a billboard with this address and "assassinate me" in neon!"_

Oh, she was afraid. That was a pretty lame excuse to be so irritating, but Renegade could definitely relate. Aqualad, too, realized what was going on and gently put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. _"We will protect you."_

A pause. _"...tracking Fog now."_

Minutes flew by after that, with Rouqette eagerly tapping away at her keyboard, Aqualad protectively standing behind her, Kid Flash fidgeting so often, and Renegade mentally going through Algebra problems in his private section of his mind. The peaceful silence stretched on, until- _"Mm...That boy..."_ Artemis said suddenly, and a mental image of Superboy came to the forefront of Renegade's mind.

...Ew.

 _"He can hear you! We can all hear you!"_ Miss Martian exclaimed, venom laced in her thoughts. Renegade nearly gagged at the obvious display of jealousy. He never asked for a team full of love polygons. No, thank you.

 _"Oh, I know..."_

Gross. His innocent mind did not need the underlying mental images that Artemis was producing. If he wasn't in a relationship himself, there was no way in hell that he needed to be seeing this. No. Just no.

Aqualad came to the rescue. _"Miss Martian, Dr. Rouqette has located the Fog. Reconfigure the bioship so that Superboy and Renegade can pursue."_

Renegade didn't bother to hide his sigh of relief and nearly sprinted out of the room. Romantic cheesiness and jealous catfights have been successfully averted.

xXx

As the two Cadmus experiments flew away from the school, the mind link slowly eased away until they were finally alone in their thoughts. The two boys sat in compatible silence for a few minutes until Superboy finally spoke. "We saw the scars."

Renegade blinked slowly. "What?" Realization slowly sunk in. Crap, how could he have forgotten? Not knowing what to say, the boy averted his eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah." Silence. And then, "What happened to you?"

"A lot of things. Sorry, but you'll have to be more specific."

Instead of looking angry at the sarcastic response, Superboy's face remained passive. "The ones on your arms are from needles, I know that already. But what about those lines on your back?"

Renegade clenched his hands into fists as memories threatened to invade his mind. "I was tested. They wanted to see if I could be broken. I thought I was, but someone believed differently. He wanted to make sure that I was unbreakable before he wasted time training me."

That period of time was particularly joyful. Renegade was put through several methods of torture, which continued on even when he was a sniveling mess pleading for all of it to end. Whips, electricity, drowning, anything that you could think of that wouldn't deal out permanent health affects was used on him. At the very end, his strong will was rewarded with a creepy man who claimed that he was his new Master.

Actually, the only name he knew the man by was "Master."

In present time, Superboy remained quiet for a while. Finally, he decided to speak again. "I'm sorry."

Well, that was unexpected. "For what? You didn't do anything."

A shrug. "I know. I'm not apologizing on my behalf, but you don't deserve this. Any of this. I might have super strength, but even I couldn't go through what you did and still find something to laugh at."

Renegade smiled, though it didn't quite meet his eyes. "I wouldn't call myself strong. I was the idiot that got myself captured."

"You were a kid, give yourself some credit." Superboy's eyebrows came together. "You never talked about that man before. Who is he?"

"Uh." Renegade struggled with his words. "He was some sort of super assassin that wanted to train me as his apprentice or something. He ended up buying me from Cadmus."

A blink. "You can't buy a person."

"Not legally..."

The clone scowled. "Well if I ever see him, I promise that I'll break his spine for you."

Instead of feeling reassured, Renegade panicked. "No. Don't go anywhere near him. He..." He shook his head. "He's dangerous. He would kill you and the Team and I'd be left alone and-"

He didn't realise that he was hyperventilating until Superboy stood up and put a reassuring hand on his arm. After the younger boy calmed, the clone spoke. "You're afraid of him." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. He said that-"

 _'Renegade will betray anyone who isn't his true Master.'_

Swallowing, Renegade continued, "He said that he'll hunt me down if I escape." Well, the Man did say that at one point, but that wasn't what was supposed to come out of his mouth.

"We'll protect you." Superboy said sternly. "This Team will keep you safe no matter what. Even if we couldn't, you have the entire League ready to step in at any time. You don't need to be afraid of him anymore."

Renegade laughed hollowly. "Funny, Bats said something similar." His smile faded. "What if...What if he tricks me into going with him? What if there is programming in me that will make me go to him?"

"If there is any reason that you are ever trapped with him, we will go through any means to rescue you." He smiled reassuringly. "Plus, Manhunter checked you over for any programming a while ago. You can be trusted."

"Thanks, Supes." It was then that they finally flew over their destination, which was already in shambles. Forcing himself to move on from his last emotional conversation, Renegade put a hand to his earpiece. "Renegade to Aqualad, we've located the Shadows' next target- Star Labs." He gazed down at the destroyed building regretfully. "It's too late. It's destroyed, totally destroyed! The Fog decimated it!" Renegade shared a look with Superboy. "This is bad. Star Labs was cutting technology and now all that information is in the hands of the enemy. What's our next move?"

The response was instantaneous. _"Rescan for that Fog."_ He ordered someone on his side.

The two experiments floated over the wreckage for a few tense minutes before Renegade finally received the new coordinates. He studied them carefully, a ball of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. "The next target is a Wayne Tech facility." Renegade informed Superboy. "This isn't good. Wayne has too much valuable information. If the Fog gets it, then..."

"What kind of information?"

"That's not important right now." Renegade said quickly. "But, based on what I know, Wayne Tech operates on a 24/7 workforce. We'll never evacuate the building on time!" Too many innocent lives were depending on them. It made him feel nauseous.

As soon as the bioship made it to the Wayne Tech building, Renegade rushed to the ship's door. As he gazed down at the endangered building, a ping on his holo glove announced that the virus was on its way. "It's downloading!"

Superboy's eyes focused on something below them. "Don't need it." He said suddenly before jumping out.

"Wait, Superboy!" Renegade called, watching as his friend's form landed on the ground. Wow, deja-vu. The last time the two Cadmus escapees were paired up, something closely similar happened.

As Renegade contemplated their continuously failed teamwork, Superboy was suddenly struck by a red laser beam and was thrown onto the pavement gracelessly. "No!"

It was too late. Superboy was down, and the Fog was released.

Thinking quickly, Renegade threw himself out of the bioship and used his grappling hook to safely land closer to the Wayne Tech building. The doors flew open as Renegade burst inside, and he ignored the confused security guard as he chased after the cloud of robots. As the alarms finally started to blare, a heavy grate slowly descended.

Why, _why_ did Bruce not tell him the voice activation codes for this place? Sure, he only lived with him for a day so far, but it would've been very helpful if he knew a few things about his Dad's workplace!

...No, he didn't just refer to Bruce as Dad.

As Renegade came closer to the grate, it became painfully obvious that he wasn't going to make it through. A quick glance back showed that there was another grate closing behind him. If he was going to be stuck in here, he would die along with everyone else. His eyes closed of their own accord, accepting that he was defeated by a simple piece of technology...

Wait, technology!

Renegade skidded to a stop right as the grate closed in front of him and quickly used his mechanical senses to find the security system. A familiar buzzing feeling wound up in the back of his mind and he focused on that, mentally peeling back the many layers that made up voice commands, passwords, identification cards...

The grate went back up.

Smirking, Renegade ducked under the still raising grate and quickly made his way into a cafeteria. As his eyes scanned the room, he was relieved to see that there was a girl attending in front of a computer. In seconds, he was in her place, plugging his holo glove into it.

"What's going on? What are you doing?"

"Please shut up, Miranda." Renegade said hotly as he frantically typed into the computer, doing everything that he could to connect the virus to Wayne Tech.

"Uh, how do you know my name? Mister, I'm going to have to ask you to leave?"

Seriously? Growing angrier, Renegade glanced at Miranda and pulled up information on her from her databases. "Miranda Liham, 27. If you want to live long enough to see your father again, I suggest you leave me alone so that I can save you." He growled. Ignoring the shocked expression that the woman wore, he typed in one final command. "Please be linked to the mainframe..."

 _Access granted._

Success!

The dark cloud of nanobots turned to a deep red color as it fell to the ground, useless. Renegade cheered to himself silently and thanked the computer lady, frowning in confusion as she flinched away. Wow, way to be nice to the hero that saved you. Rolling his eyes, Renegade made his way outside, where he was met with the sight of Superboy standing above an unconscious man.

The clone gave him a once-over, checking for injuries. "Did you do it?"

Renegade did the same. "Yeah. I see you had some fun."

"Oh yeah."

Then, Renegade's comm beeped. Soon after, Aqualad's voice sounded in his ear. _"We have apprehended two of the Shadows. Although one escaped, Dr. Rouqette is safe. What is your situation?"_

"Mission accomplished!"

xXx (A few hours later- elsewhere) xXx

"Would you care for some wine, Commissioner?"

"That would be great, Alfred. Thanks the dinner, by the way. It's delicious."

"I'm glad you feel that way. I will return momentarily." A pause. "Do sit up, Master Dick. Slouching is bad for your back."

Dick muttered a complaint under his breath as he straightened his spine, picking at his food moodily. He just saved hundreds of lives, kept a Wayne building from being totaled, and he was rewarded with a boring formal dinner with the Gordons? Being a rich kid suddenly became the worst idea ever.

"So, Dick, how are you feeling? Going through what you did must've been terrifying."

Just an hour ago, Bruce told him everything that he told the Commissioner so that he would be prepared for any questions that might be directed towards him. "Okay, considering."

Gordon smiled kindly. "I'm glad to hear it. How about your memories?"

Dick shared a subtle look with Bruce, uncomfortable with a stranger knowing these things. "I'm starting to remember things. Today, I remembered what day my birthday is." He blushed faintly. "Well, it's probably in my records already, but..."

"Nonsense." It was Bruce who spoke. "I'm glad that you remembered it on your own. You're definitely improving."

The redhead girl was now staring at him curiously. Dick hated it when people did that. It made him feel like a zoo animal on display.

Alfred hurried in at that moment, pouring both Commissioner Gordon and Bruce a glass of wine. "Thanks Alfred." Gordon said before returning his attention to Dick. "So, school starts soon. Where are you going?"

"Um..." He looked at Bruce for help.

"He'll be attending at Gotham Academy."

Gordon rose a brow. "He'll be studying at a high school level at thirteen?"

Bruce smiled proudly. "Trust me on this, Jim. Dick is a very smart lad. Before school starts, I'm going to have him tutored so that we can see just how good he is."

"Ah. Well, I'm sure Barbara wouldn't mind tutoring him in math. Isn't that right?"

The girl rose her eyebrows, but otherwise ignored the question. "So," she said instead. "What was your Cadmus name?"

Needless to say, Dick flinched.

 _'Renegade will betray anyone who isn't his true Master.'_

"Barbara!" Gordon exclaimed. "You know better than to ask questions like that." He looked at Dick apologetically. "I'm so sorry."

Dick continued to pick at his food. "It's okay."

He suddenly felt the eyes of Bruce on him. "Dick, you haven't eaten anything. If this is stressing you out, you can leave. No one will blame you."

"I'm fine." Dick said forcefully.

Silence returned to the table, only being interrupted as Bruce spoke again. "Hey Jim, I have some tech that I want you to get a look at." He looked at Barbara and Dick pointedly, trying to convey some sort of message to the older man.

"Oh? Well let's see it. Will you two be okay by yourselves?" He asked the two teens.

"We'll be fine." Barbara said easily.

"Okay. If there's any trouble, we'll be in my study." Bruce smiled as he led the Commissioner out of the dining room, closing the door behind them softly.

Dick continued to push his peas around his plate. "So not feeling the aster," he muttered under his breath.

Barbara apparently heard him. "Aster?"

Dick smiled sheepishly, still refusing to meet her eyes. "You know, the opposite of disaster?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "I like playing with words."

"I see that." Barbara grinned. "What other ones do you have?"

Dick finally looked up, startled. No one ever showed interest in his vocabulary. "Well, I've got turbed. Instead of being disturbed..."

"Huh, that's interesting. Have you tried anything besides getting rid of the -di in front of a word?"

"No. I've been too busy to focus on my word play. Do you have any suggestions?"

Barbara grinned. "Have you tried overwhelmed? There's underwhelmed too."

Dick quickly realized where she was going with that and grinned widely. "So why isn't anyone just whelmed?"

"Exactly!"

As Dick and Barbara continued to chat with each other, Gordon and Bruce finally returned to the table. The adults seemed to be amused at their unique take on the English language and even made some suggestions themselves. After a heated argument about whether or not gusting should be the antonym of disgusting, the group migrated to the living room to play Monopoly. Needless to say, a board game played by a vigilante, a sidekick, and a Commissioner was unforgettable. Even as a civilian, Barbara proved to be quite the opponent.

By the end of the night, he had a whole list of new words to annoy the villains with.

Even better, he had a new friend.

xXx

 **AN: Aaand, done! After days of frantically trying to remember what I had in store for this chapter, I finally have it completed. I deserve a pat on the back!**

 **Guys. I have a relevant question. Who is your favorite villain? This isn't some random inquiry. It's important. Please.**

 **Note: Suggestions are still being accepted.**

 **Note 2: Pairing votes are still being accepted. I'm kind of subtly hinting at multiple pairings because I'm not ready to make a commitment to any couple. (See what I did there?)**

 **Note 3: Let's play, "guess that villain!" I'm sure all of you know by now, but who do you think is the one who bought Renegade? What are your thoughts on him/her?**

 **Note 4: Renegade is the mole. Wait, that's not right. I usually say something else, don't I? How peculiar. Oh well. It works either way. :)**

 **Until next time!**


	7. Things Change

**AN: Just a reminder, this is the episode where the Team encountered Dr. Fate for the first time, yet Robin wasn't present. Well, in my story, this is what happens.**

xXx

Renegade sat in a crouched position next to his mentor, the two of them perched on the edge of a shadowy rooftop.

Since there were no missions waiting for him back at the Mountain, Renegade was allowed to go on his first patrol in Gotham. The ex-experiment found that he could barely sit still, as his excitement was too much to keep under control. "Are you sure that they're coming here?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Batman said patiently, eyes still glued to the ground below them.

"Right." Renegade fidgeted in his position, clenching and releasing his fists at random. "But what if they don't show?"

"They will."

"But-"

"Focus, Robin."

Rene- Robin twitched at the sound of his new hero name and couldn't help but grin. Before Dick was allowed to even think about patrolling Gotham, Batman asked him to take the precaution of creating a new alter ego, so that no villains would be able to connect him to his civilian name.

The name 'Renegade' was not the only thing that was thrown out the window. Instead of a plain black suit with a red R printed across the front, he now had a new costume. His gear now consisted of black Kevlar pants, an armored red top with a small black 'R' over his heart, and a black hooded cape, with red underneath it. The only thing that remained the same was his domino mask.

Batman had insisted on him wearing colors that matched his personality, but Robin couldn't help but feel that he would ruin his mentor's dark and brooding style with his bright colors. They ended up making a compromise. Robin would wear dark colors that could easily blend into the Gotham night, but he his personality would remain the same.

No one needed more than one Batman, after all.

Robin was exceptionally giddy during the patrol, finding that he was more than happy to let go of the name and style that his kidnappers forced onto him. All of the new changes gave the boy a huge burst of energy, which was threatening to take over if the bad guys wouldn't show up soon.

Fate finally decided to give him a break, he decided, as Batman seemed to notice something. "Look."

Robin followed the man's gaze and was barely able to make out the outlines of three armed men. "Is that who we're here for?"

"Yes. One of them is Penguin's new second in command. I've seen him before."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's take them down!" Robin tensed his muscles, ready to spring into a fight.

"No. I'm going to jump down there and let them capture me. They'll take me straight to Penguin."

There was no mistaking the emphasis on 'I'm,' which meant that Batman was going to do this alone. Again. "But can't you just interrogate them and get the information about Penguin's hideout that way? It would be easier."

"No, it wouldn't be easier. Penguin's second in command is known as the Liar in the criminal world. He has the uncanny ability to keep his heartbeat steady, even when telling a lie. There's no telling if he would tell me the truth or not."

Oh. That was logical enough. "How about I do it instead? They don't know me, and it would be easier to believe if I got caught instead of you. If I tell them that I have connections to you, they'll bring me straight to the Penguin!"

Batman stiffened at his argument. "Absolutely not. There are many flaws in your plan. First, even if you tell those men that you have connections to me, they might decide to kill you anyways. Second, if they do take you to Penguin, there's no telling what might happen to you there. And third, the _Joker_ is said to be working with Penguin at this point in time. If that madman catches word that you're my partner..."

Robin deflated at the detailed response. "Fine. I'll just stay here, by myself, while you go kick butt. That's cool..."

A sigh. "This is your first time in Gotham. I don't want you to be overwhelmed and get hurt."

"I promise that I'll stay whelmed!" Robin whined childishly. "Please just let me do something."

Batman stared at him for a solid second before taking in a deep breath. "Fine. You can trail behind the thugs while I'm being taken away. If anything goes wrong, you can step in. Other than that, remain hidden." Before Robin could reply, Batman spoke again. "No more arguments. I have to move quickly. Remember what I said."

With that, Batman glided down to the ground.

Robin silently cheered to himself as he watched his mentor land on the ground. The three armed men, who were simply lounging around a broken car, immediately stood at attention. "It's the Bat!" One of them cried.

"No shit." Robin muttered, snickering.

"Don't just stand there." 'Liar' screeched. "Get him! Penguin wants him alive!"

"On it."

Batman stayed silent during the exchange, only reacting when someone rushed towards him. When the criminal moved to throw a punch at him, Batman simply grabbed him by the arm and swung his entire body into the closest thug, sending both men onto the ground. Liar snarled loudly and pointed his gun at the Dark Knight, who rolled to the side to avoid the onslaught of bullets and threw a batarang at the criminal's hand to knock the gun away. Seconds later, Bats had the criminal pinned to the ground.

Three armed thugs down in less than a minute. To say that Robin was impressed would be the biggest understatement of the year. He could only hope to be that skilled in the future.

"Get off!" Liar shouted, trying to pry himself out from under Batman's crushing foot.

"You want to breath? I want answers." Batman increased the amount of pressure on his chest. "Where is Penguin?"

"He's in the Diamond District." The criminal replied with a smirk. "Oh, wait...Or maybe he was over by the Holiday Inn. I think you hit my head too hard, I can't remember."

Robin knit his eyebrows together in confusion. What Liar was saying sounded like total bullshit, but at the same time, he sounded so truthful. The man's face was relaxed, but not too relaxed, and his answers came to him easily, as though he didn't have to make anything up. Batman really wasn't kidding when he said that it was difficult to get an answer out of the guy.

Batman was not having any of his nonsense, choosing to yank the man's head up with his hair and slammed it right back onto the pavement. "You are lying. Tell me where he is."

"I just did." Both Robin and Liar watched as another man came from behind Batman, holding up a silver baseball bat. "But if you don't like that answer...He's behind you."

The bat was smashed against Batman's skull, and the vigilante staggered before collapsing next to Liar. Robin tensed a little but forced himself to relax, reminding himself that his mentor was only faking unconsciousness.

"We did it." The third man said, staring down at the fallen form of the Dark Knight.

"Uh huh. Are you two bozos going to just stand there and look stupid, or are you going to help me put him in this car?" Liar stood up, brushing off his raggedy clothing.

"But...that's not our car." Thug Two said dimly.

"Is that so? Well, I guess that means that we'll just have to leave him here."

Thug Three blinked slowly. "Really? But the boss wanted us to bring-"

"I know what the boss wanted!" Liar pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ever hear of sarcasm?"

The two thugs continued to look confused.

"Ack. Never mind. I'll hot wire the car, you two get him inside."

Robin grinned to himself as the two dimwitted criminals struggled to put the limp Bat into the back seat of the car while Liar messed with the wiring to start it. When the automobile hummed to life, the head criminal looked between the two thugs. "You do realize that I can't let you get any credit, right?"

Robin tensed. What did he mean by-

BANG!

One of the criminals fell backwards, blood dripping out of a bullet hole in his chest. Robin remained frozen as the other thug took a few steps backwards, only to come to the same fate. Liar simply grinned down at his dead associates before closing the back door. He gave the two fallen men a mock salute then went around to the driver's seat.

The car drove off.

Robin felt his arms and legs move on their own, his grappling hook was pulled out and used to lower him safely onto the ground, a few feet away from the dead bodies. As soon as he felt solid concrete under his feet he rushed towards the closest man and knelt down to feel for a pulse.

Nothing.

Nearly hyperventilating, Robin moved over to the next man and repeated the same action.

Nothing.

Bile rose in the back of his throat, and tears sprung up in his eyes. He was there, right above them, yet he still let this happen. Why didn't he move? Why didn't Batman intervene?

Wait. _Batman didn't intervene_.

Robin's breath caught in his throat. If Batman didn't ditch the unconscious act to save those men, he must've actually been unconscious! Robin had such confidence in his mentor that he never even thought that it was possible for him to have been taken off guard. If Batman was taken to Penguin in that state...

Robin abandoned the bodies, shooting off into the air again.

xXx

Finding the car was difficult, but luckily for Robin, he was great at memorizing things, like license plates. Following the car was a lot easier. Robin briefly thought about rescuing Batman the moment he saw the car, but figured that the mission would be the more important thing to the older hero.

After nearly twenty minutes, the car finally stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. Robin had to take several seconds to get over the cliche, and followed the man who was dragging his mentor behind him. Unfortunately, Liar took the precaution of closing the noisy door behind him. If Robin went through the main entrance, there was a ninety percent chance that he would be killed on the spot.

So, he elected to grapple up through a decent sized window, which allowed him to follow Liar from the rafters, where the shadows kept him hidden. When the criminal exited the main room, Robin was forced to open a vent grate and crawl through the small passageway to the next room over.

The amount of dead rats he found there were horrifying.

As soon as Robin emerged from his hiding space, he froze. Below him were a mix of Penguin's and the Joker's men, all armed. At the front of the room sat a fat man with a large piece of glass in one of his eyes. Next to him stood a grinning clown who skipped and pranced around the area with childlike glee.

"Is that the Bat?" The clown, Joker, asked. Liar simply nodded from his position in front of the two, letting the limp vigilante drop to the ground.

"Where are your men?" Penguin asked as he too stood.

"We had a run in with the police on our way here." Liar said easily.

"You're lying, aren't you?"

"No."

"Oh, he's good." Joker said cheerfully.

Robin creased his eyebrows, trying to come up with a way to take on all of the armed men, keep the Joker and Penguin from escaping, rescue his mentor, and beat Liar within an inch of his life.

The last one was not negotiable, but it didn't look as though he could accomplish any of the other things listed. Unless...

Robin took in a deep breath before exhaling, his breathing turning into his signature cackle. While laughing, Robin sprung to the other side of the rafters, letting his chuckles echo around the room without giving away his location.

Everyone tensed. "What was that?" Penguin asked lowly.

"I'm pretty sure that's not my hyena." Joker said, shrugging. "Though Harley could have gotten another one without telling me..."

"This is serious!"

"I know! She really needs to stop letting strays in. The amount of fur in my house is ridiculous!"

Robin cackled again, his laughter now being fueled by the Joker's babbling. For a murderer, this guy was pretty funny. Well, his name was the Joker...

"It's the Bat!" Someone cried.

"Idiot! The Bat's right...Wait, where did he go?"

Robin felt a familiar presence appear next to him, annoyance coming off of him in waves. Robin glanced over at him and grinned weakly. 'What?' His smile said.

A glare. 'I told you to stay at a safe distance.'

Robin shrugged. 'You were in trouble.'

Batman seemed to misunderstand his signal and his glare intensified. The vigilante looked down at the panicking criminals and then back at his protege. 'Stay.' was the unspoken command.

Robin sighed. 'Fine.'

Batman then jumped back down, falling right on top of an armed man, who fell unconscious after impact. Chaos then sparked, bullets flying in all directions, punches being thrown, confetti flying through the air...Well, that last one was only because of Joker, who seemed to be more interested in making a mess than fighting. The only person missing was...

Penguin.

Robin saw the back of the chubby man as he made his way out of the emergency exit. Batman was too occupied with his fighting to notice, and Joker wasn't even paying attention. Robin decided to ignore orders and silently dropped down to the floor. After looking in all directions to make sure that he wasn't seen, he slipped out of the room and sprinted after the Penguin. It didn't take long for him to have him sprawled across the floor.

"Ack! Get away from me, Bat-" The man finally looked up at his attacker. "Wait. You're not the Bat. Who are you?"

"I was wondering the same thing myself!" Robin was suddenly pulled backwards and shoved into a wall. The cold touch of a blade was then pressed against his throat, and he kicked out in hopes of breaking free. It didn't work. "Now, now, play nice kiddo." Joker was grinning down at him as he pushed the dagger farther into his skin, producing a few ruby drops. "What's a rugrat like you doing in grown up land, hmmm? Who are you?"

Robin brought one of his hands up to wrestle away the knife. "No one." He said forcefully.

"Oh really? You know, I think you were the one laughing! I know for a fact that Batman doesn't know how to laugh, so it must've been you." He gave Robin a once over, raising a brow. "Did Halloween come early this year?"

"Yes." Robin said, finally able to successfully push the criminal away from him. When he was free, he did a hand spring to put some distance between them. "And I think my costume is better than yours!"

"Oh, you can joke! I like you!" Joker took out a gun from the depths of his pocket and swung it around carelessly.

"You have a funny way of showing it." Robin drew his escrima sticks and held them at the ready. He could dodge the bullets and get close enough to use his weapons to knock him out. Then, he could finally go after the Penguin...

WHAM!

Stars erupted in front of the young hero's eyes as something collided with the back of his head. Vertigo took over his body, the dizziness forcing him down to his knees.

"Am I late puddin?" A high pitched female voice asked.

"You're just in time!" A foot connected with Robin's side, making him fall over. Joker was then in his face again, grinning widely at his pained expression. "Aww. Does the kiddy have an ouchie?"

"I'll live." Robin said breathlessly as he tried to pry the foot away from him.

"Oh, still have some fight in you? Don't worry. I'll fix that right now." Joker signaled for Harley to grab Robin's arms. She did so, after several swipes were made at her face. Joker then sat himself down on Robin's legs, holding his knife to his chest. "So, what will it be? A smiley face?"

Robin attempted to thrash out but was pinned right where he was. His struggling became more and more desperate as the blade came closer to his uniform. He was already warned by his mentor that the Joker possessed weapons that were able to pierce Kevlar. Joker would carve into his skin like a jack-o-lantern, and then what? What further torture would he go through until he was killed?

"Batman!" He called out, his voice sounding pleading even to his own ears.

"Hm. I think that's a bit beyond my artistic skill. I'll do my best!" Joker paused. "Huh? No fair, you're wearing the fancy hero armor! I didn't bring my special tools to work today." He pouted.

Robin let out a small sigh of relief.

"We'll just have to go straight for the kill, then!" Robin gasped as the knife was at his throat again, and he felt a steadier flow of blood run down his neck. "It's bed ti-"

Joker's weight was suddenly yanked off of him. As soon as his legs were free, he used them to fold into an inwards somersault, kicking Harley away from him in the process. When he got back onto his feet he grabbed his escrima sticks from their position on the floor and used them to defend himself against the onslaught of blows that were sent his way. As he jabbed, dodged, blocked, and kicked, he slowly backed up until he was back to back with his mentor.

The two of them reacted in an instant.

Batman ducked onto the floor, dodging a swipe of a knife as he did so. Robin used his mentor's back as a springboard to launch himself at the Joker. While Robin did that, Batman rolled from under him and when he uncoiled, he swept Harley's feet from under her. The two heroes then stood, watching both villains with a careful eye.

"It's over." Batman said quietly, his body more tense than usual. "The police are will be here soon. There's no escape."

Joker seemed unaffected by the news. "Is that _your_ brat, Bats?"

Batman ignored him, turning to said boy. "Robin, where's Penguin?"

Robin looked down. "He got away."

The older hero's response was interrupted by the police, who stormed in with guns pointed at both criminals. Robin stiffened when a few of the guns were hesitantly pointed at him, the looks on the officer's faces revealing that they weren't sure about which side he was on.

Commissioner Gordon made his way to the front of the crowd, nodding to Batman. "I have a squad of men rounding up the thugs in the other room, and Arkham is prepping for the Joker's return as we speak."

"Good. Unfortunately, the Penguin got away but we were able to take down his second in command. Don't question him, it won't get you anywhere. I'll track down the Penguin myself."

There it is again. Batman was emphasizing the 'I'm,' and the 'myself.' Robin sighed, his shoulders slumping as he realized how badly he failed tonight.

Gordon finally seemed to notice the younger hero. "And him? Did Penguin hire him for something too?"

Robin bristled. He looked nothing like a criminal! Batman noticed his discomfort and put a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "No, he's with me."

Everyone went silent.

Finally, the Joker came to his senses. "So he _is_ your brat! Ha, you _reproduced_! That's funny."

Gordon looked as though he didn't know what to do with this information. "He's...with you." He repeated slowly.

"Yes." Batman sounded impatient. A few men and women of the police looked uneasy at the harsh response and chose to drag the Joker and Harley out, who were both staring at Robin while giggling to themselves.

"Is he your son?" One of the officers blurted out when the villains were gone.

Batman stared at them blankly. Robin, without thinking, answered with, "Yes."

More silence.

"Right. Everyone, get out." Gordon commanded. Soon, he and the two heroes were alone. "Are you insane?" The Commissioner said with narrowed eyes. "You can't just bring a kid into your line of work! Even if he's yours, you know damn well that he could easily be killed! Just look at him." He made a gesture towards Robin's neck. "I don't need to be the greatest detective to know that he almost died tonight."

Robin stiffened. "I was caught off guard, that's all! Look, I have plenty of experience in crime fighting, so you can just-"

"Robin." Batman said in a warning tone. Robin's mouth snapped shut. "Commissioner, I know what I'm doing. Robin is right, he has plenty of experience in the field, but this is his first night in Gotham."

Gordon sighed. "I'm wasting my breath by arguing, aren't I?" He turned away, staring at a wall with puzzlement. "Joker and Penguin forged an alliance, just days after Joker did the same with Poison Ivy. It can't be a coincidence. What are they planning?"

When he turned around again, the two were gone.

He chuckled to himself faintly. "I'm actually surprised that he stayed so long. We have a new record." He looked at the spot where he last saw the two with a thoughtful expression. "Their personalities are as different as day and night. A real dynamic duo if I ever saw one..."

xXx

"You disobeyed direct orders," was the first thing Batman said when they landed on a rooftop.

Robin put his grappling hook away. "No I didn't. You said that I could step in if things got out of hand."

"Things were not out of hand."

"You were unconscious!"

Batman narrowed his eyes. "I was faking. I thought you knew that."

"No, you weren't faking. You would have stepped in to save those two goons if you were awake." Hit with a sudden realization, Robin flushed. "Oh. You regained consciousness in the car. I didn't think about that."

His mentor stared at him with an unreadable expression. "No, Robin. I was awake the entire time."

Robin blinked slowly. "Oh. Then you were drugged? I can't believe I didn't see that. I'm really out of my game toni-"

"I wasn't drugged either."

"I...I don't understand." Robin looked up at his mentor with wide eyes. "If you were fine, why didn't you save them?"

"I would have blown my cover." Batman said simply. "And then it would have been impossible for me to find the Penguin's hideout tonight."

Anger suddenly flared. "What!? You sacrificed two lives just so that you could find the Penguin?!"

"More lives could have been lost if we didn't take out everyone we did in that warehouse."

"We could have found another way there!"

"And if we couldn't?" Robin found that he couldn't answer that. Batman's gaze finally softened. "Look, I know it must be difficult for you to understand, but sometimes you have to sacrifice things for the sake of the mission."

Robin's breath hitched. "Does that include me?" He couldn't help but ask. "Would you throw _my_ life away?"

The resulting silence was an answer enough.

"I see..." he said quietly, looking down.

Batman sighed. "It's time to head back to the Bat Cave. I won't be able to find Penguin tonight."

Without waiting for a reply, Batman jumped off of the ledge and walked towards the Batmobile. Robin stayed behind, feeling numb. When Batman first asked him to be his protege, he was certain that he was training himself to take on the cowl if his mentor ever died, or retired. But now...

He wasn't sure if he wanted to be Batman anymore. The person who used to be his hero was starting to become something else, something he couldn't quite name. All he knew was that he didn't like it.

The ride home in the Batmobile was filled with tense silence, with Robin questioning his role in Gotham. What he didn't know was that Batman was also questioning himself.

What neither of them knew was that they were being watched. A man stood on top of a faraway building, leaning against a ventilation shaft precariously. A black and orange mask glinted in the dim moonlight as the unknown man watched the dark vehicle race away, a broad smirk on his face.

"It's time for a wake up call, Renegade." The man said softly, disappearing into the shadows.

xXx

 **AN: So, yeah, anyone who said that Deathstroke was the villain that bought Dick was spot on. Smart thinking!**

 **By the way, I asked for your favorite villains last chapter, right? Well, I put every person's choice on a slip of paper. I then put all of the paper into a hat, drawing two villain names. I ended up with Deathstroke and the Joker but since I was already planning on putting Deathstroke in here, I replaced him with Penguin. I like working with a bit of surprise. Even I didn't know what was going to happen this chapter (kind of).**

 **It's official, all pairing votes are now closed, as I have come to a final decision. What's my decision, you ask? You'll have to wait and see!**

 **Also, I realize that there were some ideas presented to me that I wasn't able to put in my story. Me being the author I am, I was thinking about starting a one-shot series that would have some reader requested scenes. What do you think?**

 **That's it for now. Stay whelmed everyone!**


	8. Mission Accomplished

'So, this is how it ends.' Robin thought, ducking to avoid a vicious attack. 'Defeated by a giant glob of clay.'

Their current mission was to protect a dingy warehouse in Gotham, as the area was being used to store secret weapons for the military. Apparently, Clayface the Play Dough monster caught word of the hidden items and attacked the surrounding soldiers. The Justice League quickly caught word of it, but with most of the Leaguers being occupied by other tasks, it was up to the Team to fight the fiend. And by fight, well...

They were getting their asses kicked.

Kid Flash was the first of the heroes to go down; his quick speed rendered useless by the sticky piles of gunk on the floor. It only took one mistake for him to slip. Once the speedster was slowed down, Clayface easily took him out.

 **"Updating information..."** His mental systems declared, adding the clay onto the list of weaknesses in Wally's profile. Robin grit his teeth in response- he didn't need a distraction at a time like this.

Artemis was the next of the teens to go down. Her arrows harmlessly flew through the monster's thick body, and she soon ran out of projectiles to use. Without her weapons, the archer had no way to defend herself. So, it really wasn't that much of a surprise that she fell...

 _"Artemis and Kid Flash are down."_ Robin informed his remaining teammates through the mental link. _"Our current strategies are clearly not working. We need a plan. I'll distract Clayface while you three come up with something."_

Robin jumped to the side just as a clay fist came his way, and he threw an explosive disk at the creature. The disk went off but only managed to irritate Clayface. A much stronger fist came his way in retaliation, and he barely managed to dodge it, the mud scraping past his shoulder. As Robin clutched his wounded shoulder, a feminine screech from behind him told him that M'gann was struck by the attack.

The mind link faded away.

"We lost Miss Martian!" Robin called out to Aqualad, who was using his blades to slice through tentacle shaped attacks. Robin subconsciously hit the panic button installed on his belt, knowing that they were out of their depth this time. "How's that plan coming?"

"I'm working on it!" The Atlantian snapped.

Robin's annoyance spiked. "Well, work faster!" He snarled. Today was _not_ the day to mess with him. He was already in a bad mood, and his supposed leader's attitude was not helping him.

He wanted this mission to be over with, fast.

The battle raged on, with Aqualad defending, Robin dodging, and Superboy throwing things at it. They had a good system going until Superboy got too cocky and landed a direct punch on him. Clayface used his gooey body to pull the clone into his mass of clay. Superboy's eyes widened, and he tried to use his other hand to push himself out, but that one was caught too. Robin watched in horror as his friend's entire form was soon completely absorbed by the clay.

They really needed a plan!

 **"Advice being recieved."** A metallic voice suddenly chimed in his head. **"Suggestion: Throw explosives into the mouth of Clayface in order to rescue fallen comrade."**

Robin blinked. Advice received? From where? He shook his head- he could freak out about that later. He decided to trust the little voice in his head and wrapped his fingers around his last explosive disk. 'Please let this work,' he thought as he threw it into the gaping mouth of Clayface. A faint beeping noise sounded from the inside of the muck, and then finally exploded.

Clay flew in all directions, covering the heroes from head to toe. Superboy's unconscious body was thrown across the room during the explosion, but Robin wasn't concerned for him just yet. Did he just...kill Clayface?

Luckily, he wasn't a murderer. Unfortunately, that also meant that Clayface was still an issue.

The bits of clay started to crawl towards each other, coming back together to form the giant monster once more. Robin's shoulders slumped as the clay loomed above him. He was exhausted enough already. There was no way that he was capable of fighting another round with this one.

Aqualad growled in annoyance and charged straight at their foe, his movements slower than ever due to exhaustion. Robin narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him. The Atlantian has been off his game all night, doing things that even a rookie wouldn't do. What was up with him? Looks like he wasn't the only one having a bad day.

The monster simply swatted the elder hero away from him and made a rumbling noise when he hit a wall. Was that laughter? Creepy... With Aqualad still down, Robin was momentarily alone. He dove to the side to avoid a sword shaped attack as he started to run, his goal being to get to Aqualad.

Exhaustion finally managed to get the best of him, as he skid through an avoidable puddle on the ground. He was then thoroughly acquainted with the concrete, stars forming in front of his eyes as his head smacked the ground. Clayface took advantage of his situation and picked him up, only to shove him straight into a wall. Robin gasped as his back made contact and felt warm blood drip down from the new wound. He slid back to the ground lifelessly, his vision blurring as Clayface moved to grab him again.

But the hand was sliced away before he had the chance.

Aqualad stood in front of Robin protectively, his katanas held in a defensive position. "Can you still fight, my friend?"

Robin remembered muttering something in response, but wasn't quite sure what it was. He faintly heard Aqualad and Clayface shouting at each other, soon followed by the shattering of glass and the buzz of electricity. A roar of pain shook the building after that, but soon died down, the sound of shuffling feet being the only thing to remain.

Hands suddenly grabbed Robin's shoulders and lifted him to his feet. Robin immediately tensed and struggled against the grip, but relaxed when a familiar gruff voice spoke, "It's me." Batman paused. "You're injured."

Robin fought away the weariness and stood up straighter, ignoring the way his legs shook. "I'm fine." He said forcefully while avoiding eye contact.

Batman stared at him, looking thoroughly displeased at his poor attempt at lying. "Fine, go wake the others up. We'll meet up at the Mountain."

The boy nodded and looked down. "Yes sir." he muttered.

Batman slipped out after that, either angry at him for failing the mission, or rethinking the 'having a sidekick' thing. Or both. Normally, those depressing thoughts would be kept at bay, but today was different. In another world, a different timeline, Robin knew exactly where he would be right now, who he would be taking orders from. Today was the day...

The day he was supposed to be given away.

xXx

The Team arrived at the Mountain, clay clinging to their bodies and depression hanging in the air. No one, not even Wally, tried to lighten the mood. They failed their mission tonight, proving that they were no more than children to the League. Batman was waiting for them when they returned, the sight of him only adding onto the mental weight that Robin carried.

"I need to speak to Aqualad." The man said lowly. "The rest of you, hit the showers and go home."

Superboy was unimpressed. "Home? I am home." He said in a growl as he trudged through to the showers, leaving a clay trail on the floor.

The rest of the team followed him, leaving Robin, Aqualad, and Batman alone. Robin fought the urge to sigh impatiently. He just wanted to go home already, get some sleep, maybe-

"Just Aqualad." Batman said suddenly.

Robin blinked, knitting his eyebrows together. Confusion soon turned into anger as the words were finally processed in his slow mind. He grit his teeth and shot the Atlantian a heated look before storming out, his entire frame shaking with suppressed emotions. So what if Batman wanted to speak to Aqualad alone? That was fine with him. It wasn't like he was being replaced or anything. Was he? Batman _has_ been distant with him lately...

Robin swallowed hard. Batman basically ignored his existence ever since the incident with Penguin and Joker. The only time the two of them exchanged words was during meals, but even those were short-lived. Dick found himself worrying that Batman was going to change his mind about keeping him around. It certainly made sense. Who wanted a son with anxiety issues? Who would keep a freak with a mini computer in his head? Why would Batman keep him around after his continuous failures?

 _Who would want to be associated with someone who belonged to an assassin?_

That thought finally broke the dam, and traitorous tears spilled out of his eyes as he wrestled the door to the locker room open. A quick glance around the room revealed that Superboy was still in the showers, but Wally was done, sitting on the bench in his civvies, lacing his sneakers.

The speedster glanced up as he finished what he was doing. "Oh, I thought you would be with-" he stopped himself short, looking at Robin as if noticing him for the first time. "Hey, are you okay?" He was at his side in an instant, looking worried.

Dick shook his head. "No..." he muttered.

Wally frowned at his admission and guided him to the bench, sitting right next to him in case he needed a hug. Good old Wally... "Want to talk about it?"

Words came out before he could think. "I think Batman is thinking about getting rid of me. He won't talk to me, won't let me out on patrol, and treats me like a kid. On top of that, my stupid mental systems are telling me things even more often, and," he took in a shaky breath, "And that man...today was the day he was supposed to pick me up from Cadmus."

Wally's eyes widened at the end of his spiel and pulled Dick into a bone crushing hug. "Dude, I'm sorry. I had no idea that you were so stressed. Some friend I am." Before Dick could argue against the last statement, he was speaking again, "Listen, whoever that guy was, he can't get to you now. You're safe here, remember? And about your databases, we already determined that you aren't spying on us. You don't have to worry about it, I swear." Wally smiled reassuringly. "As for Bats...I'm sure he won't just toss you out. He changed since you joined the Team, he's a lot less darker than before. He's probably just having a hard time adjusting to having a kid in the house. Trust me Di- Rob, he won't get rid of you."

It couldn't be that hard to adjust to a kid in the house. It wasn't as though Bruce had to take care of him anyways. Alfred fed him and made sure he went to bed at decent times, and Dick was able to handle anything else. All that Bruce had to do was talk to him, and that really shouldn't be an issue.

His thoughts went back to the Man, his former 'Master.' He wanted to be able to talk to his guardian about his fears, but with the man ignoring him, it was impossible. Even if he did talk to him, would Bruce think that he's stupid for being scared? Everyone assured him that he was safe now, but Dick still felt as though the Man would come after him no matter where he was. It was pathetic, really.

Dick opened his mouth to voice his thoughts when Aqualad suddenly entered the room. "Batman asked for me to inform you that he is ready to leave, whenever you are finished in here." The Atlantian said quietly.

Dick pried himself away from Wally, cheeks burning with embarrassment. "Whatever." He muttered, standing. "I need to shower."

Aqualad nodded briskly and headed to the other side of the room. Wally stood up next to Dick, frowning. "Will you be okay? You could totally crash at my place if you need to. Bats isn't the best when it comes to emotional support, and I know that the Mystery Man is going to be on your mind all night."

Dick smiled weakly. "I'll be fine." He said, though the lie sounded lame even to his own ears. With Wally's unconvinced look, he continued, "If things get bad, I'll call you. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." The speedster definitely wasn't content with this decision. "Just be careful, alright? Don't...don't fall back onto old habits. When things are hard, remember that I have your back."

Old habits? Oh, he meant drugs. "Will do. Thanks for everything Wally."

"That's what best friends are for, right?"

Dick nodded absentmindedly and proceeded to head to the shower stalls. It wasn't until he was stripping himself of his uniform when the full meaning of those words struck him. _Best friends._

xXx

The first thing Dick did when he returned to the Bat Cave was disappear into the training room. Sweat dripped down his face from the strain he was putting on himself, his body still recovering from the battle with Clayface. His arms shook as he used the rings to pull himself into a flip.

"Just Aqualad." He muttered darkly, teeth clenched in anger. He pulled himself up and swung off of the ropes, landing on a nearby platform. His body protested against the strict training and as a result, he stumbled and fell.

 _Not good enough._

 _Batman is definitely getting rid of you._

 _And then what?_

 _Who will protect you from that man then?_

 _You know what he'll make you do._

Dick didn't realize that his arm was moving until he felt a solid object move from under his fist. A quick look down revealed that he dented the wall. His frustrations didn't dwindle away at the physical contact, they only became stronger. He still wasn't good enough, he would never be good enough. Never.

Alfred walked in at that moment., holding a water bottle and a towel. "Master Dick? Master Bruce wishes to see you."

Oh, so _now_ he was important enough to be spoken to. "Fine." Dick said shortly, brushing past the old butler. "Where is he?"

"Outside, by the garage." There definitely was concern in his voice.

"Mm." Dick grabbed the bottle of water as he left, pouring the liquid down his throat while he made his way through the manor. When he stepped outside, he was greeted by a cold breeze as well as a neglectful guardian. "What is it?" He asked, a little more harshly than needed.

The answer he received was something being thrown at him. Dick instinctively caught the object and stared down at it. It was an ordinary basketball. "What's this?"

Bruce smiled a little. "Training." He declared.

Dick looked behind his mentor and noticed the basketball hoop. The invisible weight on his shoulders lessened as he realized that Bruce was actually trying to spend some time with him. The boy rolled the ball around in his hands, a grin finding its way to his face. "One on one?"

Bruce's smile widened. "If you think you can handle it."

xXx

After their game, the two of them went into the dining room for a quick bite of food. As Dick shoved a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth, Bruce spoke. "May I ask you something?"

Dick swallowed his food. "Sure. What's up?"

"You were angry with me. Why?"

A blink. Dick slowly put his spoon down. "Are you seriously asking me this?"

"Yes."

Trying not to be angry again, Dick answered, "Why do you think? You've been ignoring me for days, you refuse to take me on patrol, and..." he trailed off, unwilling to continue.

Bruce stared at him. "And what?" He sighed. "I haven't been purposely ignoring you. As for patrol, I want to wait until you're ready. Your last mission in Gotham proved that you need more training."

"No I don't. It was a one time thing!"

"No arguments." Bruce said flatly. "And you didn't answer my earlier question. What else are you mad about?"

Dick scowled. "Nothing."

"Dick, there's obviously something wrong."

"Just leave it, okay?"

"No, I will not 'just leave it.' As your guardian, it's my job to keep you-"

"It's your job?!" Dick was on his feet in seconds. "What's in your job description, then?"

"Dick-"

"Is ignoring your child part of your job? How about throwing his life away to save Gotham? Wait, no, that's your job as Batman, isn't it?"

"Is that what this is about?" Bruce stood. "Dick, you don't understand-"

"I understand perfectly fine, Bruce! I thought I meant something to you, that you actually cared! But you can just toss me into the line of fire for the sake of your-"

"I can't." Bruce said suddenly.

Dick paused. "You what?"

"I can't." He repeated. "I can't toss you into the line of fire. I...can't."

Blue eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean?"

Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're wrong, Dick. You are the most important person in my life right now, my _son._ " Dick took in a sharp breath at that word, startled. "That night, you told Gordon that I was your father. It didn't fully register in my mind until then, but I realized that you really _are_ my son. When you asked me if I could throw your life away for the greater good, I hesitated. Never before have I had someone that I couldn't let go of."

Dick stood there, shocked silent.

Bruce ran a hand through his hair. "I know I've been an awful parent so far, but I'm trying. The truth is, I don't want you to patrol with me because on that night, when I saw Joker's hands covered in your blood, I was _scared_. I don't want you to die. It's selfish of me, but I want you to stay here, where I know you're safe..."

If Dick was shocked before, there was no words to describe what he was feeling now. "Bruce," he started hesitantly, "I'm not a little kid. I messed up that night, I know I did, but I'm learning from my mistakes. I'm perfectly fine now, see?"

The detective looked disgruntled. "No you're not. Dick, you've been through so much, I find it hard to believe that you can even smile anymore."

Dick paused, unsure of what to say to that. "Someone has to smile around here." He decided to say.

When Bruce pulled him into a strong hug in response, Dick finally felt the last of his anger extinguish.

xXx Later, in the Mountain xXx

Robin was grinning from ear to ear when the last of his teammates entered the mission debriefing room. He was so ready for their new task, his entire body twitching with excitement. There was no way that they could fail this one. There was absolutely no chance!

Kid Flash glanced at him and subtly rose a brow, as if silently asking him if he was okay. It wasn't quite like bat-talk, since the silent question was entirely too obvious, but Robin answered with a grin anyways. Oh yeah, he was more than okay. He was so feeling the aster now!

With everyone there, Batman looked at each of the gathered teens before speaking, "The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Biyalian desert-"

As Robin listened to Batman's explanation, the chip in his head suddenly announced **, "Mission successful. Moving on to Stage Two."**

xXx

 **AN: I think I'm going to have to start updating once a week. School's been keeping me pretty busy, so it looks like I'll only have time to publish things over the weekend. Oh well.**

 **Also, DON'T MAKE ANY PAIRING ASSUMPTIONS.**

 **Thanks for reading! See you next week!**


	9. The Assassin

Hot sand stuck to Renegade's skin as the experiment slowly aroused from the depths of unconsciousness. His throat was dry, and the harsh sunlight burnt his skin. The boy forced back a groan as he pushed himself up to his feet. His head spun, and his last meal threatened to make a reappearance. It took all of his willpower to not fall back down and curl into a ball.

The sunlight seemed even brighter when it reflected against the desert's light colored sand. Wait, why was he in a desert? And why did his head hurt so much? These questions circulated in his head as he stumbled towards a nearby rock formation.

 **"Danger Detected."**

On instinct, Renegade turned his head and spotted an approaching vehicle. He narrowed his eyes and used his acrobatics to get on top of nearby rocks, watching it go by. "Computer, analyze those uniforms." he said quietly.

 **"Analyzing..."** a pause. **"Uniforms belong to the Bialyan Republican Army."**

Renegade blinked slowly. That couldn't be right, could it? He glanced down and finally took notice of his hologlove. Perfect. "What are Bialyans doing in uh..." the map of his location came up on screen. "Bialya?"

That was unexpected.

"Better question: what am _I_ doing in Bialya?"

Considering that he hasn't been allowed to leave Cadmus up until now, it was more than a little surprising that he was able to come all the way out here. He frowned as he mentally did a health check on himself: a couple of bruises, dehydration, and a migraine. Not too bad, considering. Next he did a stock check. He had a completely new outfit on, with brand new weapons and gadgets too. His uniform was also made out of some sort of fabric that he couldn't identity, but his mental systems insisted that it was Kevlar. Wasn't that a hero thing?

Finally he decided to mess with his hologlove, not used to using any technology besides the chip in his mind. His eyes searched the screen, taking note that there GPS marker somewhere a few miles away. After making a mental route to that destination, his masked eyes fell onto the date at the bottom of the screen. "It's _September_?! What happened to March?"

Wait. It was March, right?

"Note to self- watch date more often." He muttered.

 **"Note recorded."**

The last thing he remembered was Deathsroke giving him new escrima sticks, saying that they would do for now, since he too incompetent to use swords. Though the words stung, the gift was greatly appreciated. Exactly how long ago was that? Seven months? A year? His mind was always fuzzy a few days after he was drugged, but he never lost track of a whole _six months._

Renegade stood up straighter as an idea came to mind. _Deathstroke_. Stupid, why didn't he think about that before? "I should've radioed him in the beginning!" He raised a hand to the ear piece in his ear when a sudden memory forced itself to the forefront of his mind.

 _"Maintain radio silence at all times."_

Renegade froze. Was that...Batman?! Why the hell did he have a memory of him? And why was he demanding radio silence? He wasn't his boss!

But, something bugged him. A small voice in his head told him that he should trust Batman's order and keep quiet. Another part, the part that didn't want to be murdered by Deathstroke, demanded that he contacted his Master. Either die in the desert, or call the boss.

His decision was easy.

He pressed a finger against his comm and waited for Deathstoke's signal to come up on his holocomputer. However, the only destinations he was able to see were located in Gotham City and Happy Harbour. Renegade knew that Deathstroke would not be in either place, at least until his Mission began.

Whatever that was...

Renegade sighed and lowered his hand. It looked like he would have to contact his Master through other means. "Computer, send Deathstroke an SOS, and tell him the gist of my problem. Also, I need a search for the nearest Light member."

 **"SOS sent. Searching..."** a moment of silence, then, **"Member found: Queen Bee."** Information on the female started to appear in the back of his head.

Satisfied with his work, Renegade jumped down from his perch. His intent was to head to where he put the GPS marker to see if there were any supplies, and then find a way to Queen Bee. Before he could set off, a fluttering object caught his eye. He scooped up the black cloth and noticed the red S shape on the front.

Superman was here too? No, Superman wore different colors. What was going on? "Computer, analyze."

 **"Analyzing."** Seconds later, it continued, **"Clothes belong to Project Kr, aka Superboy. Battle suggestions are on hand in case of danger."**

Renegade narrowed his eyes and let the shirt slips past his fingers. Project Kr was loose? The Superboy project wasn't supposed to be let on missions for another year, after Cadmus had complete control over him. Was he sent here to capture Kr and bring him back to base? Well, it wouldn't hurt to double check.

As Renegade moved to continue his journey to his marker, a sudden noise caught his attention. He spun around and glanced up, narrowing his eyes at the cloud of dust rising in the sky. There must've been a fight going on... Wait, was that a tank? Ookay... He could either go see what was going on, or stick to the original plan. He decided on the latter, knowing that getting involved in another country's battles wouldn't end well. He didn't need to be injured further.

As Renegade trudged through the sand, he quickly decided that he hated deserts. It was much too hot, his throat burned, and his stomach growled unhappily. He refused to give up though. Deathstroke would be furious if he was unable to do something so simple as walking.

As the sun set, he stopped in his tracks abruptly, staring at the sky. Wow, he forgot what a sunset looked like. It was so pretty, with its shades of red, orange, and pink. The last time he saw a sunset, he was still mourning his parents... He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts; he had to keep moving.

Minutes turned into hours, and the ball of light eventually disappeared over the horizon, drowning the desert in shadows. Renegade wasn't too affected by it- he spent most of his time in darkness anyways. It was, however, making him feel sleepier. He pushed on, seeing as his marker wasn't too far away. As if to prove his point, his hologlove made a faint beeping noise, informing him that he was a few meters away from his destination.

"I wish I remembered why I put this here." He muttered to himself as he climbed up another hill. At the top he finally saw what he was looking for. An unidentified metal object sat in the middle of the sand. "Maybe that's why."

Renegade ducked behind a small dune, watching the object closely. There was no one else in the vicinity- no guards, no enemies, no scientists. To be able to walk right up to the object and get what he needed would be easy.

A little _too_ easy.

Smirking at the cliche, he sprung forward and landed in front of the object. If there was a trap, he might as well get it over with. As soon as his feet hit the ground, a squad of men emerged from the sand and pointed guns at him. Renegade automatically shifted into a fighting stance, eyes narrowed dangerously. If they wanted to mess with an assassin, so be it.

"Her Majesty wants him alive!" A soldier shouted to the others in Bialyan. Renegade's chip automatically translated it for him, thankfully. His foreign language skills weren't on par with his Master just yet. But wait, Queen Bee knew he was here? In that case, why did she assume that he wouldn't go willingly? The only explanation he could think of was that Deathstroke and her were on opposing sides at the moment.

Did that mean that his amnesia came from an injury in battle? His heart sank. The battle he saw earlier could have been between Deathstroke's assassins and Bee's men. Was Deathstroke okay? If his Master fell in battle because he wasn't there for assistance...

Renegade saw red.

As the men swarmed towards him, he let a smoke bomb fall from his hand. Immediately, his infrared vision activated and allowed him to see his enemies clearly. He launched himself at the closest man and threw him backwards with a powerful kick. The sound of bones snapping sounded wonderful to his ears, and he relished in it as he moved on to his next target.

Two men were backing away, getting dangerously close to the edge of the smoke cloud. Renegade was not having any of that, throwing a bolas at their legs and successfully bringing them down. He had no idea where he got the bolas from but since he had six months missing from his memory, he didn't question it.

There were still tons of men to take down. Renegade growled lowly and used the back of the nearest soldier as a springboard to launch himself at another, knocking both of them to the ground. One of them tried to get up but Renegade knocked him back by throwing a shruiken into his shoulder. The man cried out and fell back down, blood pouring from the wound. The boy simply rose a brow at the display of weakness. Pathetic.

"Enough!" A soldier cried. "Open fire!"

Renegade jumped backwards to avoid the onslaught of bullets, flipping backwards and pulling out a couple of shruikens. It was then that he noticed that the design of them were very similar to those of Batman's batarangs. Hold the phone, why did he have red batarangs?

All of a sudden, a black streak raced through, disarming the men with unbelievable speed. "I'll hold that! Thank you!" The streak then skidded to a stop, revealing a redhead boy with a black uniform, a Flash symbol on his chest.

 **"Recognized: Wally West, aka Kid Flash."**

Renegade slowly lowered his shruiken, furrowing his brow. How did he know Kid Flash's name? The Light wasn't interested in the heroes's civilian identities. The only way he could have this information is if he obtained it himself.

But when? And why?

Renegade tensed in preparation for an attack, but it surprisingly never came. Kid Flash continued to take the soldiers down, not even sparing him a glance. Suddenly, a few of the men started to float into the air, and were forcefully thrown into each other. Renegade glanced to the side and saw a flying green skinned girl. A Martian? What?

 **"Recognized: M'gann M'orzz aka Miss Martian."** A series of information was listed under her profile, making Renegade's headache grow worse.

There was only one man still standing, but was taken down by the streak of an arrow. As soon as it came into contact with the soldier it transformed into a line of rope and wrapped itself around his legs. Renegade blinked slowly. That was just like the weapon he used earlier...

He turned to see where the arrow came from and was surprised to see Artemis Crock in a Green Arrow type of uniform.

This had to be a hallucination.

He then realized that all three teens were staring at him and held his shruiken tighter. There was a possibility that the three of them took out those soldiers in order to get him alone, to take him out. Well, he wasn't going down without a fight.

"What do you want?" He asked, though his voice was hoarse from lack of use. Water sounded fantastic right about now.

Focus...

"We're here to help." The Martian girl said softly.

Renegade snorted. "Right."

Kid Flash frowned. "Memory loss, right?"

Eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. "What's it to you?" He spat, raising his weapon. "I would thank you for taking those men out, but I seriously doubt that you did that out of compassion towards me. So, I'll ask again: what do you want?"

The Martian girl desperately shook her head. "Please, don't fight. I know what's going on. We're a team!" She cried excitedly. "We work for the Justice League, us and Superboy!"

Renegade laughed. "You have to be kidding me. You're saying that a kid raised by assassins and a clone created to destroy Superman are part of some superhero squad? Yeah, that seems likely."

"You have to believe me!" Miss Martian looked like she would cry. "I can restore your memories, help you remember."

Renegade took a step backwards. He wasn't about to let some stranger go into his head and search through his thoughts. His mind went back to his memory of Batman and he hesitated. The only reason he would talk to him at all is if he was working with him. Did he have undercover assignment in the Justice League? It made sense...

He turned away from them. "Computer, have there been any lies detected?"

KF blinked. "Who are you-"

 **"No lies have been detected."**

"-talking to?"

"Hm." He turned back around and held his blade up threateningly. "I will take your word, for now. If you attempt to take advantage of my trust at any time, I will not hesitate to kill you. Understand?"

The other three stiffened. Miss Martian seemed to have second doubts about his involvement with their so called team, but nodded anyway. "Understood." She then rose her hands to her temples and her eyes glowed white.

The four of them were suddenly standing on a small platform, broken fragments of memories floating around them. Renegade looked around in shock, recognizing himself in a few of the memories. In some of them, he saw his old uniform, but others had the newer version. He saw himself laughing, elbowing Kid Flash in one image. In another, he had sunglasses instead of a mask.

His breath caught in his throat. _Why wasn't he wearing a mask?_

"I have brought you into my mind to share what I've remembered so far." Renegade repressed the urge to jump when a light appeared before them. "But I need your help." The orb of light disappeared, replaced by the form of Miss Martian. "Together our broken memories can form a whole...if you open your minds to mine."

"You want to go through our private thoughts?!" Artemis said angrily. Renegade hummed in agreement with her hesitation. He was starting to have second thoughts about this.

"I have no wish to intrude, but-"

Kid Flash interrupted with, "You need to get into our heads to find out what happened, got it. My brain's all yours. Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you."

Renegade snorted at that. "Or underwhelm."

That made another memory surface.

 _A red haired girl grinned at him "Have you tried overwhelmed?" She asked him. "There's underwhelmed too."_

In present time, Renegade blinked. "Hey, why isn't anyone just whelmed?"

Three pairs of eyes blinked at him in confusion. Renegade looked away, also confused. Where did that come from? Who was that girl? When did he start telling other people about his word play? That was his _personal_ game.

Artemis frowned, looking conflicted. Kid Flash smiled at her reassuringly and took her hand, squeezing it. The archer looked at him for a moment, seemingly searching for an answer to her unspoken question. A second later, she relaxed ever so slightly. "Last six months _only_ , and _only_ what you need."

M'gann nodded in acceptance and stretched her hands out. In reaction to this, faint images of larger ghostly hands appeared and fell onto each of their heads. Renegade stiffened, ready to feel pain, when-

 _Batman looked at each teen before speaking, "The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan desert. Spectral-analysis revealed it to be non-terrestrial in origin. Find out what happened at that sight, what landed there. Bialya is a rouge state, ruled by Queen Bee, and not a member of the League's U.N. charter. All communications are subject to interception. Maintain radio silence at all times."_

 _The scene shifted, and the teens were suddenly moving through the desert. Superboy had a heavy metal object being carried on his back, while Kid Flash stood to the side, scarfing down one of his snacks. "All clear," Renegade informed them. Wait, no...That name didn't sound right._

 _Renegade followed Artemis to the edge of a decent sized dune, and they both looked down at the tent set up below. A couple of guards stood at the entrance, ready to take down any intruders. Renegade was confident that they wouldn't be a problem. Nothing could go wrong on this mission..._

 _"The Bialyans control the site." Artemis whispered._

 _"Set up here." An unknown voice instructed. Superboy obeyed, putting the device onto the sand in front of him._

 _Renegade hopped over to the controls and started to type away at the keyboard, a cheerful grin on his face. "We'll be up and running in no time." He told his teammates._

 _Kid Flash's face lit up as he read the screen. "Jackpot! The sight's lousy with Zeta Beam radiation!"_

 _Rene- Robin narrowed his eyes. "Detecting non-terrestrial elements from the tent._

 _"I can check it out in camouflage mode!" M'gann suggested._

 _The mystery voice spoke again, "Good idea. Go."_

 _Superboy turned towards her. "Be careful."_

 _"And maintain telepathic contact." The deep voice ordered._

 _"I will, Aqualad."_

In present time, everyone's eyes snapped open. "Aqualad!" They all said simultaneously.

Robin glanced down to where he held his birdarang and dropped it as if it burned him. He didn't even realize that he had the ability to murder, but to threaten his own friend- that was unthinkable. Just the thought of it made him sick.

"Where is he?" Artemis asked quickly. "What happened next?"

Miss Martian looked clueless. "I don't know. That's the last thing I- we remember."

Both Artemis and Kid Flash looked down to their connecting hands and pulled away, faces turning bright red. The speedster turned away from the blonde, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Robin rose a brow at this. Interesting...

"We landed twenty-four hours ago. If Kaldur's been wandering the desert for that long, well that's not good for a guy with gills." Kid Flash frowned in concern.

"Hm." Robin pulled out his holo screen and started to type instructions away at a brilliant speed. Soon, the tracking device he gave the Atlantian gave him coordinates. "Ah, he's close." He frowned. "But he's not moving..."

They had to find him, fast.

xXx

When they found Aqualad, he was feverish and speaking in an unfamiliar language that even Robin's databases couldn't translate. He must've been speaking his native tongue, a language that wasn't often taught to surface dwellers.

"I can't restore his memories in this condition." Miss M said, brow furrowed in concern.

"He needs immediate rehydration." Robin declared. "Call the bioship."

"It's out of range." She glanced at KF. "But you can get him there fast."

"He's too heavy, and I'm too low on fuel." He smiled weakly and gestured to Artemis. "Right now, I couldn't even carry her."

The archer ignored the comment. "Why not just levitate him back?" She asked Miss M.

"I can't, I have to find Superboy. Six months ago, he didn't even exist. He has no memories, just animal impulse. I'm the only one who can help him."

"Superboy's indestructible. It's Aqualad that needs your help." Kid argued.

The Martian suddenly clutched her head, gasping. "No! Superboy's in pain!" She cried, levitating off of the ground and flying towards wherever she felt it.

"M'gann wait!" Artemis shouted.

Robin panicked a little. "We still don't know who erased our memories! It could happen again!" He _really_ didn't want amnesia for a third time.

The Martian ignored their pleas, flying away.

"Great." Kid Flash mumbled. He looked away from the sky and down towards the unconscious Aqualad. "So, who's carrying him?"

xXx

Robin walked ahead of his teammates, staring at his hologlove map intently. Behind him, Artemis and Kid Flash dragged Aqualad with them using a stretcher they created with limited supplies. Together, they trudged through the sand in silence, until the sound of a car engine caught Robin's attention. "Quick, over there," he whispered, pointing to a nearby boulder. The other two immediately obeyed and carried their fallen leader to the indicated hiding place.

Aqualad started to speak in his native tongue again, and Artemis quietly shushed him. Robin slowly stood, took a quick peek at the surrounding soldiers, then ducked again, frustrated. "We can't risk a fire fight with Aqualad KOed like this."

Kid Flash rubbed the back of his head. "It's not just him. I'm way out of juice." Robin gave his friend a worried look at this statement. How long could a speedster last without food again?

Artemis nodded. "I'm almost out of arrows." She added.

Robin glanced down at his belt, noticing that he only had a couple of birdarangs (he was proud of himself for coming up with that name), some smoke-based explosives, and his grappling hook. Not exactly what one would bring to a fire fight, but it would do.

He left without another word.

Seconds later, he heard KF complain about his disappearing acts. A smile came to his face but he didn't quite laugh. That would come later. Robin moved a few meters away from the armed squad and planted a couple of explosives in the sand. These were a very special kind of explosives. These had recordings of his laughter installed into them. It was after the fight with the Joker and Penguin that he realized just how much he freaked people out with his cackle.

Well if you're going to do something, you might as well go all out.

He returned to the boulder just in time to hear snippets of Artemis and Wally's latest argument. He rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, get a room."

KF spun around. "Dude! Where were you?"

Robin couldn't help but grin. "Breaking radio silence."

Seconds later, the metallic sound of his recorded laughter began to play. Just as expected, the soldiers automatically went straight to the source of the noise. Unfortunately for them, the explosives had motion sensors.

Luckily, they were only harmed by smoke.

"That's our cue. Move!" The three of them, plus Aqualad, took off, finding a different route to the bioship. They had to hurry. Aqualad was dehydrated, KF was starving, Robin had the biggest migraine in the world, and Artemis was almost useless without her arrows. They had to restock, tend to their wounds, eat and drink, and wait for M'gann. It was going to be a long night...

An arrow suddenly plunged into the ground in front of Robin's feet.

The boy stopped midstep and stared at the projectile. The design of the arrow was somewhat familiar, but it obviously didn't belong to either of the Arrows, or Artemis. Robin knelt down next to it and rubbed the dirt surrounding it, looking at his glove afterwards. There were no traces of poison on the tip of it, so a failed assassin attempt seemed unlikely. A slip of rolled up paper caught Robin's attention at last and he carefully removed it. There was nothing special about the paper itself, but maybe the message inside would shed some light onto things.

Robin stood up and unrolled the paper.

"Hey Rob?" Kid Flash suddenly appeared at his side. "We found the bioship. Artemis is bringing Aqualad inside but we were worried when we noticed that you disappeared. Again." He finally noticed the paper. "What's that?"

"Dunno." Robin smirked. "But whoever sent this to me must be unfamiliar with texting. I mean come on, air mail? That's so last year."

Kid Flash smiled, uncertain. "Right. Well, uh, hurry up and read your air mail. Artie is probably worried sick."

Robin's smirk widened. "Artie, huh? That's cute, but I think you should work harder on the pet names. Mine are ten times better."

The elder boy turned red. "Shut it." He scowled. "And what do you know about pet names?"

Robin snickered and finally looked down at the message. "Dear Appren-" his voice caught in his throat as his brain registered the word. _Apprentice_.

Shit. He sent an SOS to Deathstroke.

As the boy stared at the letter numbly, his friend became agitated with the silence. "Rob?" The speedster frowned in concern, poking Robin's shoulder gently. "Everything okay?"

"Not exactly..." The younger boy muttered, shoving the paper towards the speedster.

Wally straightened the paper and began to read it. As his eyes moved, his eyebrows came together, and his lips formed into a thin line. Fury was written all over his face, and the way his fist crumpled the paper emphasized how angry he was. "Bioship _. Now._ "

He grabbed Robin by the shoulder and started to steer him towards the ship. The younger boy, usually against being manhandled in that fashion, walked with him silently. Breathing became more difficult with each step he took.

The only thing he could think was: 'He's here.'

xXx

Batman stared at the holographic screen in front of him. Three Arkham breakouts occurred in the same month, each one releasing more criminals than the last. There was something big going on in the criminal world, something that was too important for them to stay held up for long periods of time. Batman was going to figure this out before any thirteen year olds would be allowed on patrol, that was for sure.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. "What?" He asked in a grunt, not looking away from the Arkham information. The Joker and Harley Quinn were involved in two of the three breakouts. Hm.

"The Team is on their way back." Superman's voice informed him.

"And?" Even though the Team took longer to finish their task than expected, the League found no reason to start worrying just yet. There are unforeseen factors in every Mission, after all. The Justice League and the group of young heroes decided to agree that the League would only intervene if A) The Team calls for help, B) A week goes by without any word, or C) Robin uses Batman's distress signal. Since none of the three occurred, being treated like a distressed parent was slightly irritating.

"Well, uh." Superman sounded hesitant. He always hated to be the bearer of bad news. But wait, if Superman was coming t _o him_ with bad news regarding the Team...

He finally turned around. "What happened to Robin?" He demanded. Several scenarios played in his mind. Was he injured? Unconscious? Kidnapped? Was he even alive?

"He's fine." Superman said quickly. "Well, physically anyways. I mean, I'm sure he has some scrapes and bruises but-"

"Spit it out Clark." He snapped, patience wearing thin.

The meta rubbed the back of his neck. "Right, sorry. Well something happened to Robin before they left Bialya. They didn't give me specifics, but it sounds like he's in hysterics. Kid Flash barely got him into the bioship before he had a panic attack, he refused to eat or drink, won't sleep, and won't talk. The kid's as paranoid as you right now Batman." He frowned. "I thought I'd let you know since you're his guardian. If anyone can get him to relax, I'm betting it's you."

"I'll handle it." Batman nodded shortly, ignoring his protective instincts. "I'll have Alfred get things ready in the Cave. You can go."

"Okay." Superman gave him a pointed look as he left. "You're welcome, by the way."

The Zeta Tube announced his departure.

Batman brought a hand to his earpiece. "Alfred."

 _"Master Bruce?"_

"I just caught word that Robin is in a panicked state- not eating, drinking, talking, or sleeping. Clark said that he had a panic attack. Can you arrange everything so that I can handle it as soon as we get there?"

 _"Of course."_ Alfred sounded concerned. _"Should I keep sedatives on hand?"_

"Yes. I hope that we won't need them, but you never know."

 _"Right you are, sir. Do you require anything else?"_

"No. Thanks Alfred." He hung up.

Just as the Mountain announced the arrival of the bioship.

Batman immediately got rid of the holographic screen and briskly walked towards the loading bay. When he arrived, it was to see Superboy and Artemis assisting Kaldur with walking. The Atlantian frowned when he saw him. "We apologize for our extended mission. We did not mean to take so long, but we were met with certain complications."

Batman glanced behind them. "We'll talk later. Where's Robin?"

Artemis spoke, "In the bioship. Something is wrong, he won't respond to us. M'gann and Wally are trying to get him to leave but he seems scared."

Batman narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly before walking away from them. He ducked his head as he entered the ship from below, barely paying attention to the surrounding alien technology.

"Come on, Rob." He heard Kid Flash say. "He's not here. We're at the Mountain, you'll be fine."

Batman's eyes landed on his protege. The boy was sitting in one of the ship's chairs, knees drawn to his chest. On one side of him was Wally, who had a hand on his shoulder and was apparently trying to convince him to leave. On the other side was M'gann, who only stood there, completely clueless with what to do.

"Leave." Batman ordered as he came toward them "I have this."

"Okay." The Martian girl smiled at Robin sympathetically before flying out.

Wally, however, stayed. "I'm not leaving until I know he's okay." He argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

On a normal day, Batman would have stuck a batarang down the kid's throat for the attitude, but he was too worried to care at that point. Ignoring the speedster, Batman knelt down next to his partner and put both hands on his shoulders. "Hey, chum" he said softly. "It's time to go."

Robin tightened his grip on his knees.

Batman frowned and slowly peeled off the boy's mask. Blue eyes were casted downwards, there but not totally seeing. "Dick," Batman tried again, pulling his cowl off, "you can't stay in here forever. You need food, and water."

Dick's eyes focused on his guardian. "Bruce?"

Bruce nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Let's get you out of here, okay?"

The boy looked out the window. "He was there."

"Who was?" No answer. "Dick?"

Wally shook his head, speaking up, "He won't say who. I already asked. Here, this might ease your confusion a little." He handed him something.

It was a crumpled up paper.

Bruce carefully unfolded it and smoothed the wrinkles away, eyes narrowed in concentration. "Where did you get this?"

"Someone shot it at him. It doesn't matter, just read it."

He scowled at the lack of respect, but complied, skimming over the ink.

 _'Dear Apprentice,'_ he read. _'I received your SOS, and was surprised when you requested my assistance. I was even more surprised to learn that you have lost your memory, but I gather that you've overcome your problems on your own. I am rather pleased that you were able to handle yourself without my interference, but I am disappointed on your skills as an assassin. This is the second time I have been able to sneak up on you without notice. If I were anyone else, you would be dead. If I am able to follow you a third time, I will not hesitate to take you home._

 _Your Master,_

 _Deathstroke._

 _P.S. I'm always watching'_


	10. Shifts in Personalities

"Well done, apprentice."

Dick was kneeling at Deathstroke's feet, a pleased smirk on his face. "It was my absolute pleasure, Master..."

Littering the ground was the bodies of his deceased friends, each with matching stab wounds on their torsos. Their collective blood pooled around the floor and almost definitely stained Dick's uniform, but he was beyond caring. He was too far gone to understand what he had just done.

Someone stirred from the other side of the room, attracting his attention. "Dick?" Bruce was chained to a wall, watching him with startled eyes. "What's going on?" His gaze shifted towards the fallen heroes, and then the blood splattered all over Dick's uniform. It didn't take long to put two and two together. "Why would you do this?" His eyes were steely now, and Dick knew that his acts would not be forgiven.

As if he cared.

"It's all part of the Mission, detective." Deathstroke answered cooly. " _His_ Mission, in fact. You're not the only one who would sacrifice everything to achieve your goals."

Bruce flinched at the comment and stared at his former protege pleadingly. "Dick, please..."

"Begging now? Pathetic." Deathstroke shook his head. "I expected better from you. Some protector of Gotham you turned out to be. End him, apprentice."

"Gladly." Dick stood up and drew his sword, pointing the tip at his guardian's chest. "Any last words?"

Bruce stared at him blankly before speaking. "Wake up."

"Wha-"

"Dick, you're taking your test today. I need you to wake up." The room darkened, and the sword fell from the boy's fingertips. He heard his Master laugh darkly as the final pieces of his dream shattered ,and he was pulled towards consciousness.

Dick's eyes flew open, and he sat up with a gasp. He looked wildly around the room for any sign of Deathstroke. Instead, he found Bruce standing awkwardly next to his bed, eyes filled with concern. "Bad dream?"

"Yeah." He forced out, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He could almost smell the metallic stench of blood from his nightmare, could see the lifeless forms of his friends behind his eyelids. As he exhaled, he forced those senses away. Deathstroke wasn't there, his friends were alive, and Bruce wasn't about to die by his hand. Everything was fine. Fine.

The bed shifted as Bruce sat next to him, and a warm hand fell onto his shoulder. "If you don't feel like going today, we can reschedule."

Right, his school placement test. He nearly forgot about that. He was half tempted to ask to stay home for the day, but decided against it. Being defeated by a mere nightmare was not what he had in mind when he escaped from Cadmus. He had to be strong like his mentor, or it would be so much easier for Deathstroke to get his hands on him. "No, I want to go." He moved away from his guardian and stood up. "I'll be ready in ten."

"If you're sure..." Bruce reluctantly stood and made his way towards the door. "If you change your mind, just let me know." He promptly left.

Like that was going to happen, Dick thought sourly. He quickly got ready, stripping himself of his sweatpants and throwing on a pair of dark jeans. When he went to look for a shirt, he paused. This would be his first time leaving the house since the Bialyan incident, so it wouldn't hurt to have a good luck charm with him.

He decided on a Batman shirt.

After that, he threw on a pair of socks and shoes and worked his way over to the bathroom across the hall. His hair was a sloppy mess, but he managed to gel it back without much hassle. Being the ward of a billionaire meant that he had to dress the part, which unfortunately meant that he had to mimic his guardian's hair style.

If he didn't know Bruce Wayne personally, he would have disliked him just because his hair.

After he had brushed his teeth and gave himself another look over in the mirror, he exited the bathroom and made his way to the staircase. He had long since disregarded all rules concerning the stairs, and chose to slide down the railing rather than take up unnecessary time by climbing down the steps.

"We have stairs for a reason, Master Dick." Alfred said as soon as he walked into the kitchen, a stern frown present. Dick didn't bother asking him how he knew- all members of the Bat family had a strange sixth sense which allowed them to know exactly what you don't want them to. Dick still didn't have that ability, which was a sign itself.

"Sorry Alfie. Won't happen again," he said with his most charming smile.

Alfred scoffed. "I might have believed you if you haven't said that after the last three incidents, sir."

Dick looked offended. "Are you calling me a liar? I would never!"

Before Alfred could counter, Bruce walked into the kitchen, adjusting his tie. "Are you ready?"

Dick turned around to face him, nodding. "Yeah. I've been studying ever since you took me in, so hopefully I'm not as stupid as before."

"You weren't ever stupid. You're a bright lad, Dick." Bruce finally caught sight of the shirt that he was wearing, and his lips came upward in a rare smile. "I don't think you'll need the strength of Batman to take a placement test."

"Probably not." He agreed. "But I might need it if my Master decides to come after me again."

The smile faded away instantly. "He isn't your Master." He said sternly, eyes narrowing. Seconds later, he forcefully relaxed. "I will make sure that no one will get to you Dick. Not now, and not ever."

"Promise?" his voice sounded so desperate that he nearly cringed.

"I promise."

The tension built up in Dick eased away. If Bruce could promise him such a thing, then he was definitely safe from any kidnapping attempts. "Okay. Are we going now?"

A frown. "Don't you want some breakfast?"

His last nightmare was still fresh in his mind. Eating was not an option right now, not unless Bruce was willing to wait while he threw it all back up. "Not hungry."

The two older men shared a look. "If you say so." Bruce said finally. "Let's get in the car."

Dick nodded in consent and followed his mentor through one of the garage doors. "Are you sure that you do not wish for me to drive you, sir?" Alfred asked Bruce as they made their way out.

"Positive. I do have a driver's license, Alfred. We'll be fine." Bruce hurriedly closed the door behind them before the butler could argue any further. He then swept his eyes over the present cars. "Well, we have sixteen cars at our disposal. Which one do you want to take?"

"Only sixteen? I expect more from you." Dick said teasingly. He then looked at the four cars in the garage they were currently in, eyebrows knit together. He had almost no information on cars in his databases, and he didn't remember his family ever traveling by automobile while in the circus. Which one was the best? Well, he knew which one was the best. He has ridden in it many times before. "You would be the best dad ever if you drove me to school in the Batmobile." Just picturing it made him grin.

Bruce laughed at that. His voice was low, and it echoed around the garage. Dick felt the his neck hair stand on end at the sound of it; it was so much like Deathstroke's laugh from his dream that he nearly thought the man himself was there. "Here, I'll pick something that _won't_ give away our identities. And... maybe I'll let you drive the Batmobile tonight."

All thoughts of his last nightmare faded away, and he perked up immediately. "Really?"

"Sure, as long as you're good."

Who else could say that the great Batman ever let them drive his precious Batmobile? Dick grinned and was practically buzzing with excitement as he climbed into the passenger seat of his guardian's choice of vehicle. "Wait until I tell Wally!" He exclaimed as he buckled himself in.

Bruce simply chuckled in response.

xXx

When Dick emerged from Gotham Academy, he was mentally exhausted, but proud. His instructor told him that he finished the test in record time, which either meant he did very well, or very bad. Dick had a feeling it was the former; the questions were simple and didn't take much effort. He knew for a fact that he was brilliant in math, if the way he flew through it was anything to go by.

Maybe he wasn't so stupid after all.

Bruce glanced at him as he started the car. "I was expecting you to take longer. How did it go?"

"Not sure." Dick admitted. "But I think I did well on the math portion."

"I'm sure you did fine." The car backed out of the parking lot, and soon they were cruising on the street. "Want to get some ice cream?"

"Yes!" Dick exclaimed right away, sitting up straighter.

The drive to the nearest ice cream shop was short, and Dick soon held a scoop of cookie dough ice cream on a cone. Bruce tried to decline the shop owner's offer for a scoop of his own, but Dick intervened and made him get a mint chocolate. His guardian attempted to argue, but Dick silenced him with a bat-glare. Bruce was so baffled by the change of perspective that he actually accepted the cone. Dick never felt prouder.

They ate their ice cream inside, with Dick happily licking his ice cream and Bruce hesitantly eating his own. Anyone else who entered the store gawked at the two. Dick was aware of the whispers that circled around the room, and couldn't help but feel nervous. What could they possibly be saying about him? Was something wrong? When a flash of a camera made an appearance, Bruce finally took action.

"We need to go." He said quietly, eyes sweeping the crowded shop. "I didn't realize how long we've been here."

Dick frowned. "But I was having fun."

Bruce sighed. "I was too, but trust me, it's time to go." He grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and stood, urging Dick to do the same.

As soon as the boy was on his feet, he was led to the trash can on the other side of the room, where they got rid of their napkins and Bruce's remaining ice cream. The man's face was ridden with apprehension, and it increased with every step they took. Dick wondered if he was late to a board meeting or something of the sort, and felt slightly guilty for taking up so much time. He was about to apologize when-

"Bruce Wayne!"

A swarm of people appeared out of no where, trapping them in their circle. Dick flinched when a much brighter flash of light blinded him, several more following soon after. He stumbled backwards and bumped into Bruce, who put a steady hand on his shoulder. Dick looked up at him and saw that his eyes were narrowed into a perfect bat-glare. The boy gulped and lowered his gaze, unaware of what caused the chaos.

"Mr. Wayne, who is this boy?"

"Is this your son?"

"Bruce, have you taken in a child to show your support for the newest orphanage?"

There were several mutters of "charity case" as reporters scribbled some notes down. Dick felt his face heat up as more and more questions were asked. People were surrounding him at all sides, the flashes of light made his head hurt, and their chattering voices came together in a cluster of noise. It was all so confusing, and the closer the reporters got, the sicker Dick felt. His senses were being so occupied that it would only take a quick shove to take him out of commission.

Deathstroke was waiting for an opportunity such as this.

That thought made his resolve crumble, and he just about clung to Bruce's suit as he tried to keep his panic at bay. This only seemed to encourage the reporters; some of the females declared how adorable he was for clinging to his father and took even more pictures.

"Get back." Bruce said angrily. "Leave us alone."

There was another murmur, this one sounding like a mix of "protective father," and "only pretending." Dick squeezed his eyes shut as they continued to shout questions and shove each other away for a clearer shot. Bruce tried to push through them, but with Dick clinging to him like a lifeline and the persistence of the reporters, it was impossible to do so while hiding his strength. The reporters started to ramble more, now spitting insults at both Bruce and Dick. The familiar buzz of electronics gathered in the back of Dick's head, growing stronger with every photo.

When someone tried to pull Dick away from Bruce, something snapped.

Every camera made a strange buzzing noise, and Dick pried his eyes open to see a faint cloud of smoke raise from all present electronics. The crowd of reporters shared shouts of alarm as they dropped their devices, their hands now a bright pink color. Bruce removed himself from Dick and fished his cell out of his pocket. He quickly dropped it too, the phone being to hot to handle.

Dick's panic was completely forgotten, and a small smirk appeared on his face as he observed the fearful expressions. Bruce didn't appear to notice him, too focused on the reporters. "Let's go." He said lowly, grabbing him by the shoulder and steering him out of the crowd.

Dick pulled himself out of his grasp and scowled. "Don't manhandle me. I can walk myself." He snapped.

Bruce retracted his hand, a brief look of surprise crossing his features. His eyes met Dick's before narrowing ever so slightly, analyzing him. He then looked away and continued on, not waiting for Dick to catch up. The two entered the car in silence, which stuck around until they pulled up in front of Wayne Manor. "You did that." Bruce suddenly said.

Dick didn't need to ask what he was talking about. "Yeah, so?"

Bruce turned the key, and the car went silent. "I thought you were only capable of hacking."

He shrugged in response, climbing out of the vehicle.

"Dick, stop." Bruce appeared next to him, face unreadable. "We need to talk about this."

"About what? Okay, so I have a new ability. Big whoop. I'll try adding it into my training schedule. Happy?"

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "You shouldn't have other abilities."

"That's a bit selfish. It's not my fault that _you_ don't have powers."

"That's not what I'm saying." Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, calming his frustration. "Manhunter scanned your mind for any programming and saw the extent of your abilities. Hacking was the only thing he could find, Dick."

Dick froze. "What are you saying?"

"He needs to check you over again. If what I'm thinking is true..." Bruce sighed.

His fear was replaced by anger, and he pushed Bruce away from him. "Then what? Are you going to toss me to the side and get yourself another kid?" He asked in a snarl. "I bet you'll lock me up in some cell until you can figure out what to do with me. Act like I don't exist, pretend I never escaped from Cadmus." He laughed, but it was hollow and sounded wild. "But I guess I can't blame you, how could I? I'm a freak. None of my memories add up, I have weird powers that I used to hurt those reporters, I'm a former drug addict who still has the need to get a fix..."

Bruce put both hands on his shoulders, eyes wide. "Dick. Stop." His hands then moved to Dick's, prying them off of his arms. Dick didn't even realize that he had been digging his nails into his own skin, hard enough to draw blood.

He rambled on anyways. "Panic attacks left and right, I've been trained to kill at an early age, I'm the most useless member on the Team, I've been downloading information on everyone in the League, and now I can't-"

"Wait." Bruce's face hardened. "What was that last one?"

Dick's breath caught in his throat. No. _No. Nonono._ No one was supposed to find out about that, especially not Bruce. His head was bombarded with thoughts of abandonment, the people he cared about looking at him in disgust, him having to run away, and thoughts of being left alone to fend for himself. His former friends would hunt him down, try to find a way to get rid of the information he had, and possibly kill him if they couldn't. Batman was against killing, but he could definitely turn a blind eye if his own identity was at risk.

" _Dick_. Look at me."

He couldn't. He kept his head tilted towards the ground, tears gathering in his eyes. He wouldn't be able to handle the look of disappointment on Bruce's face. To see the person who he looked up to to look at him with such contempt would break him. The frail pieces of his mental stability would shatter, and his dim light would be extinguished. He couldn't do this, he just couldn't.

"Dick..." Bruce crouched in front of him. "I need you to tell me what's going on, or I can't help you."

Dick buried his face in his hands, letting out a sob. "I can't. You won't like me anymore."

There was a moment of silence before he was pulled into a crushing hug. "There isn't anything that will make me not like you. _Nothing_. Understand?"

Dick couldn't answer, he could barely breath with all of his crying. His chest shook as he hiccuped, and his sobs only grew worse when Bruce tried to calm him by rubbing his back. He was sure that he created a huge wet spot on his guardian's shoulder, but the man didn't seem to mind. Yet.

Bruce let him get it out of his system, saying a few soothing words every so often. Dick eventually ran out of tears, and was left feeling exhausted. His eyes stung, his throat was dry, and his body shook. His guardian soon led him inside and sat him down on the nearest sofa, kneeling down in front of him.

"Master Bruce, is that you? You have been gone for a long-" Alfred walked in, and caught sight of Dick's tear stained face. "My word, what happened to the young Master?"

"Please, leave us." Bruce said softly. Dick went back to hiding his face, another round of hiccups making a reappearance.

"Of course, sir. Shall I put together a cup of hot chocolate for Master Dick?"

"Please." When Alfred left, Bruce pried Dick's hands away from his face. "Hey chum, I need you to tell me what's going on." When the boy remained quiet, he sighed. "Please Dick? This could be very serious."

Dick nodded, eyes downcast. He quietly told him about the downloaded information that his chip had stored, explaining how the data could be found even when he suffered from amnesia. He even told him about the battle advice that he was given for each League and Team member. Bruce listened without interrupting, no clear emotions being displayed. When Dick finished, Bruce simply nodded, and squeezed his shoulder gently. "We'll figure this out." He promised. "You should have told me earlier, Dick. If Manhunter couldn't find this or your other abilities when he was going through your head, there's no telling what else he missed."

Dick stared at him. "Y-you're not mad?"

Bruce maneuvered himself onto the seat next to him and pulled him into another strong hug. "I'm not angry. This is completely out of your control. I'm slightly disappointed that you didn't think you could tell me this earlier. Look, I didn't take you in just for the fun of it. I care about your well-being, and I will go through great lengths to keep you safe. This hidden programming could possibly get you killed, and I don't want to see that happen."

Dick sniffled. "But those reporters said that I'm just a charity case. Why would you care if I died?"

"You are _not_ a charity case. Don't ever think that."

"O-okay." There was another period of silence. Neither Bruce nor Dick moved, not even when Alfred set two mugs of hot chocolate on the coffee table. After another minute, Dick spoke. "My mom used to make me hot cocoa when I was sad."

"Yeah?" Bruce took a mug and handed it to him before taking the other for himself. They both took small sips of their drinks before putting them back down.

Dick curled up, tucking his knees towards his chest and setting his head on his mentor's side. He felt like a small child again, having to rely on a parent to give him comfort. He didn't feel weak for it, though. A realization came to him: he was a child. Most of his reactions could be blamed on his age and/or the trauma he went through in his early years.

It was nice not hating himself for once.

"My parents had difficulty teaching me English." He said quietly. "I couldn't grasp the concept of prefixes and suffixes. I kept making up words that didn't exist... Eventually, my parents turned it into a game. I actually learned faster that way."

"And that's why you mess with words now." Bruce said softly.

"Yeah. I forgot what the purpose of it was for a while, but I still did it. It cheered me up when I was at my lowest points. I had a distant memory of having fun with it, so I continued. Drove the scientists insane."

Bruce chuckled lightly. "I bet it did. Your parents sound like nice people."

"They were..."

Another silence came over them, the occasional sip of cocoa being the only noise made. Finally, Bruce spoke again, "My father used to call me chum whenever I was upset."

Dick looked at him. He remembered back in the bio ship, he was so ridden with panic that he barely registered those who surrounded him, but then Bruce came and calmed him down. He called him chum back then. Come to think of it, he did the same thing just a few minutes ago. "Is that why...?"

Bruce nodded silently.

Dick smiled. "I'm glad you care so much."

Bruce ruffled his hair. "Of course I do. I wasn't lying when I said that before." He smiled warmly. "So, are you traught enough to wash up for dinner, or do you need another minute?"

Dick stared at him in confusion. "Traught?" His brain slowly made sense of it. Distraught - traught. He couldn't help but grin like an idiot when he realized what he was doing. "I dunno... I kind of want to see how long you'll let me lay on you. Blackmail material, of course."

Bruce snorted. "Me being Batman isn't good enough for blackmail?"

"You probably have a gazillion plans ready in case I reveal your identity."

"And you assume that I don't have any in case you reveal how parental I can be?"

"... Point taken."

No words were exchanged after that, and dinner wasn't brought up again. Dick eventually grew drowsy, and ended up dozing off. Sometime later, a warm blanket was placed over him and woke him up. He tiredly looked around but found that he was in the same exact room, and still laying on Bruce. The man had his eyes closed, and was breathing deeply, a similar blanket resting on top of him. Dick smiled to himself and put his head back down, feeling completely at ease for the first time in a while.

xXx

 **AN: I'm such a liar. "Once a week," I said. "It'll be fun." I said. Only, it wasn't fun, because my inspiration for this story took a hike and I had to hunt it down.**

 **But anyways, remember when Dick deactivated the Fog a few chapters back? Yeah, he did something kinda weird. He did the same kind of thing in this chapter, but it's more exaggerated than last time.**

 **Hint: it's the way he acts.**

 **Thanks for reading, and thanks for your patience! :)**


	11. Traught

**AN: I decided to skip episode 11, which is the Belle Reve episode. I** ** _did_** **have something there, but I can't find it anywhere, and it'll take me so much longer to either find it or rewrite it. The solution was to just skip it all together. Sorry?**

 **Not sorry.**

xXx

Dick stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, frowning at his crooked tie and his messy hair which refused to stay down. He quickly decided that he hated everything about his uniform, and instead of getting ready, he wasted most of his time glaring at his reflection.

"Bat-glares won't work on yourself." Bruce commented from the doorway, sounding amused.

Dick groaned in response. "I look so stupid," he mumbled. "Everyone is going to make fun of me."

Bruce shook his head and stepped forward. "No one will make fun of you. Here, let me help." He grabbed the container of hair gel and put a small amount of it on his hands before running it through the boy's hair. He then took the comb from Dick and used it to repeat the gesture, successfully keeping it down. "Better?"

A quick glance to the mirror was all he needed to nod. "Yeah, much better." He then tugged on his tie, grinning sheepishly. "Honestly, I've never touched a tie in my life."

The man chuckled and shook his head. "I suppose you wouldn't have, would you? Come here, I'll help you."

Within minutes, Dick no longer looked like someone who just crawled out of a Lazarus Pit, and had the sharp appearance of someone of Bruce's financial status. While that definitely was an improvement, he still hated the uniform. "Why can't I just wear my normal clothes?" He grumbled. "If they want a uniform, I have a better one in the Bat Cave."

Another laugh. "That you do."

He looked at Bruce's reflection, narrowing his eyes. "... I'm surprised that you didn't make another comment about me quitting Robin," he said quietly, knowing that the comment wouldn't do anything but start a fight.

The smile faded away. "Let's not discuss that right now." He said firmly, mouth set in a thin line. Dick knew that it would be pointless to argue that he wanted to talk about it _now_. Bruce wasn't willing to talk about anything unless he was the one to bring it up. They should switch names; Dick suited him more.

Well, they could both be assholes, then.

Dick shut his mouth and brushed past him, good mood already taking a bad turn. This argument had started days ago, after his guardian had been against him assisting the Team during the Belle Reve mission. Even though Robin had the most insight on how criminals behaved, he wasn't allowed to go undercover with M'gann and Connor. This lack of control over what should have been his own decision left a bad taste in his mouth, which successfully agitated him for the remainder of that day. When his mentor returned, they immediately shared a couple of words.

And by that, he meant that they had a twenty minute shouting match, which ended with Batman telling him that he wanted him to quit the hero business, and Dick storming out. The days after that were filled with bitter comments from both sides, slammed doors, and lack of eating on Dick's part. Eventually, he calmed down enough to see where his guardian was coming from, but he still didn't like it. Bruce wanted him to stop being Robin because the man was afraid that something would happen to him. Dick was glad that he cared enough to say something like that, but felt as though Bruce was implying that he couldn't take care of himself; that he wasn't good enough.

And if he wasn't Batman's protege, what was the point of him living in the Manor?

He frowned, and stopped where he stood. Being Batman's protege meant everything to him, and being a hero was even more important. If Bruce tried to take that away from him...

The situation was so frustrating. He _had_ to be Batman's protege. Something in his mind told him that there was nothing else he could do, or his entire existence would be pointless.

... But _why_ did he have those thoughts?

xXx

The car pulled up in front of the school, and Dick and Barbara both climbed out through the back doors. "Thanks for the ride Alfred," Barbara said with an exaggerated smile. "It was fun listening to Dick complain about his outfit the entire ride here."

Dick huffed. "Hey, don't act like you don't hate it too!"

Alfred simply smiled. "You are most welcome, miss Barbara." He then looked at Dick with those same disapproving eyes he had when the boy refused to talk to Bruce. The elderly man had tried to get the two to be civil, but had given up when the bat-glares began. "Master Dick, please eat a decent lunch today, since you yet again refused to sit with Master Bruce at breakfast. I will see you both after school."

The thought of food made his stomach feel uncomfortable, but he forced himself to not show it. The last thing he needed was either Barbara or Alfred thinking he had an eating disorder.

Which he probably did, but...

"I'll make no promises," he finally said, waving at him. "See you later Alfie."

The butler gave him another look of disapproval before pulling away, probably knowing that his adoptive grandson wasn't going to be eating. He was almost always looking at him like that, Dick realized. Did that mean something? Alfred liked him, didn't he? Before he could think about it any further, Barbara grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him towards the building. "We have no time for day dreaming, Dick. I promised Bruce and Alfred that I would give you a tour of the place before school starts." She narrowed her eyes at him.

Dick chuckled and let her drag him around. Leave it to Barbara to not take any of his self hating bull crap. She was a great friend, distracting him from things before they could effect him.

Speaking of friends...

Was that Artemis?

A girl with long blonde hair had her back to him, but her voice carried over. She sounded embarrassed about something she had said, and she turned her head slightly, unknowingly letting Dick get a look at her.

 **"Recognized: Artemis Crock."** His chip chimed in his head.

Well, what do you know? She actually came to Gotham Academy after all. When Bruce told him about her scholarship, Dick immediately assumed that she would decline the offer. Apparently, she did not. Dick briefly wondered why she accepted, but decided that it really didn't matter. If he was being honest with himself, he was going to mess with her no matter what her reason was.

He ran over to her, threw an arm around him, and snapped a picture of them with his phone. "We'll laugh about this someday," he promised her before backing into the shadows, resisting the urge to cackle. Heh, he was going to have a lot of fun during the year.

Barbara remained where she stood, crossing her arms. "Dick, what was that about?" She asked without turning to look at him.

"Nothing, Barbara. Just being friendly to the new girl." Okay, that was a lame excuse, considering that he was new too. Oh well, what else would she think he was doing?

"Mmm." She huffed and turned around, stalking over to the building.

Dick shrugged and looked at the new photo on his phone. Yeah, it was perfect. The ultimate way to mix his civilian life with his hero one. Take that, Bruce! There was no way he was going to be normal now!

He gave himself a little grin and put his phone away, turning around to talk to his friend. Wait, where did she go? Dick stared at the spot he last saw her, feeling his heart sink. She ditched him? No, she probably thought he was right behind her. She knew about his anxiety issues and wouldn't just leave him there.

By himself. In a new setting.

Dick just about ran to the closest building, throwing the doors open and stumbling inside. He searched for Barbara nervously, blue eyes filled with panic. He was alone in a foreign building full of strangers, the only Team member in his proximity had no idea who he was, Bruce was back at home, and the one person who was supposed to stay with him left without a word. Dick took in a deep breath and slowly let it out to calm himself, reminding himself that he was at school and that no one meant him any harm. The students surrounding him were not going to point a gun at him anytime soon.

He could do this on his own.

As he searched the hallways for his locker, he started to make a list of reasons why he was safe, just to keep the panic at bay. Bruce had maximum security at Gotham Academy, the teachers would make sure nothing happened to him, he had his utility belt under his inform in case trouble arose, and Deathstroke had no idea where he was... Right?

His thoughts were pushed away as he was faced with a new task: opening his locker.

Dick stared at the numbers blankly and hesitantly grabbed the knob. It was just like a safe, wasn't it? He has opened one of those before. He turned the dial towards the correct numbers and then tugged at the handle. It didn't budge. Dick narrowed his eyes and tried it again, getting the same results. After a third fail, he pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket and glared at it. On it was the information he needed to get into his locker. He didn't use the wrong combination, so what was it? Did he need to use a secret knock too? Was he turning it the wrong way? Did the school give him the wrong information?

The bell rang.

Dick scowled and entered his combo once again, growling when it continued to keep him out. What. The. Hell. Was school always like this?

Something told him that it was.

xXx (Later) xXx

Robin jumped onto a low building, and ran to jump over the ledge leading to the next. As he ran, he wiped the frustrated tears of off his face, mentally cursing himself for getting so emotional about everything.

He and Bruce had a fight the second he got home. About civilian life. _Again_.

And Bruce nearly fired him.

What started off as an innocent suggestion turned into an all out shouting match between the two of them, and they both said things that was untrue. They were aiming to hurt each other with their words in order to get the other to back down, but it didn't work. Bruce ended up storming out, and Dick, well...

He ran away.

He couldn't handle it. Bruce being so angry with him was painful enough without the man knowing just what to say to make him feel worthless. Dick had locked himself inside his room for fifteen minutes before deciding on leaving. He scribbled down a note telling Bruce that he was leaving, that he might be back later, grabbed the spare Robin costume out of his closet, and then escaped through the window.

And now, he was running through the streets with no where else to go. That was, until he saw Artemis trying to sneak into a Zeta Tube. Why didn't he think of that? He could always stay at the Mountain for the time being!

He dropped down in front of her, making her jump. "Artemis?" He asked in false surprise, tilting his head at her childishly.

"Robin? I, uh..."

He rose his eyebrows. "How random that you're in Gotham City instead of Star City, where your uncle, Green Arrow, lives?" He was somewhat curious to what kind of excuse she would come up with to justify why she would be in his city.

"I'm, uh, here to see my cousin," Artemis said lamely, "She was in the state spelling bee. Here. In Gotham. City."

Wow, she needed some work on her lying skills. He decided to go with it anyways, deciding he wouldn't tell her that he knew her identity. It would be a little weird if a kid told you that he knew your identity because a voice in his head informed him of it. "C-o-o-l. Did she w-i-n?"

Her eyes narrowed. "N-o."

"D-r-a-g."

"Yeah." She sighed. "Let's just go to the Cave."

Robin smirked and gestured to the Tube. "Ladies first."

"Your town," she argued, "you go."

Okay, she wasn't in a good mood. Maybe he should wait and mess with her later. He gave her the smallest of shrugs and stepped into the Tube. **"Recognized: Robin, B01."**

The dark environment of Gotham disappeared as Robin was showered in bright light, being replaced by the homey atmosphere of the Mountain.

And then he nearly died. Of course.

A great wave of heat suddenly came towards him, and he rolled to the side just in time to avoid being burnt to a crisp. Ah, the joys of being a hero. You never know when you're going to be barbequed.

 **"Recognized: Artemis, B07."**

"Get down!" Robin shouted as another attack was directed towards her. He gave her no time to react herself, choosing to grab her by the arm and yank her down before she could be roasted. The attack had created an abundance of crimson colored smoke which managed to keep their opponents hidden. Robin stood up and put himself between the attackers and Artemis, throwing explosives in their general direction.

Artemis finally snapped out of her shock and started firing arrows into the smoke as well. "Who are we fighting?!"

He threw a couple of birdarangs at the figures. "Dunno, but we're sitting ducks by these Tubes. Head for the exit!" The two of them ran towards the only other exit the Cave had, but was stopped when a massive surge of water was sent towards them. "Or not."

The two tried to outrun the wave, but was eventually swept off of their feet by it. They were completely submerged in water for a few seconds, but it quickly relented, and they were left trying to catch their breath on the ground. Robin pushed away his weariness and stood back up, running with Artemis as they avoided several fire blasts. They then scrambled into the training room, the doors sliding shut behind them.

"Robin to Team. Come in. Aqualad!" He shouted while holding his hand up to his comm. There was no reply.

Another blast of fire from behind knocked them off of their feet again. They wasted no time in getting right back up again, avoided a vortex of fire as they fled.

Okay, time to get Batman.

"Robin to Bat Cave. Override: RG4." Again, there was no reply. Desperately, Robin switched signals again. "Cave calling Justice League. HOJ/Watchtower- B01: Priority Red."

During his attempts to contact anyone, he and Artemis had gone through the boy's locker room and Robin automatically went to turn the showers on. Artemis did the same, not even questioning his motive.

Oh. _Oh._ He was technically acting as leader right now!

"Comm is down." He turned one last shower on. Nothing happened. "Locked. At least the water's helping." The faucets then shot out of the walls, letting in large amounts of water. "Or not," he amended as the abundance of water lifted them up. They were again submerged, but Robin wouldn't let himself panic just yet. Mission. He had to focus on the mission. Keeping his thoughts calm, he swam over to a wall and attached an explosive to it. The disk made a whining noise as he retreated, and-

BOOM!

A hole was created in the wall, where all of the water escaped through, dragging Artemis and Robin with the current. The two of them gasped for breath simultaneously, and gave themselves a couple of seconds to expel all of the liquid from their lungs before moving again, aiming for the common room.

"We need to get lost," Robin said quietly.

Artemis pointed to the ventilation shaft in the kitchen. "The air vent!"

"Perfect. Go!" While Artemis jumped onto the counter to remove the grate, Robin went over to the nearest control panel and connected his holo glove to it. Alright, they needed a plan, and they would be dead in the next five minutes if they continued to wander around aimlessly.

"What are you-"

"Downloading Cave blueprints. Could come in-" he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and pulled his cord out of the panel, moving towards the vent. "Go, go!"

As the two of them moved through the maze of passageways, Robin pulled up the newly installed map on his holo glove. "Go left," he ordered, and Artemis complied. They barely managed to make the turn just as a jet of fire shot through the space they had just occupied. Robin sucked in a breath, feeling a small amount of panic before he squashed it. "Too close... Take the first right."

They continued on this new path for a minute, and Robin pulled up his map again. "There should be a cover right in front of you."

Artemis pulled the cover off and dropped down the chute, Robin following close behind. Once they had landed, Robin looked at his screen again. "This way," he said, running to down the nearby staircase. As they sprinted across the room, a figure cloaked in fire crashed through the ceiling. Both teens held their breath as it looked around, but were forced to move when it spotted them and readied an attack. As they ran, they saw that one of the machine's heat levels had risen to red. "Not good." He said, and they had to dodge another fireball. He pulled up his map again, wrinkling his nose. "I know that other access tunnel is here somewhere?"

"You mean this one?" Artemis asked from behind him, jumping into the now open vent. Way to be blind, Dick, he mentally scolded himself as he followed. As he dropped into the tunnel, he heard the explosive he planted on one of the machines go off. Ha, take that, hot head!

The tunnel was dark, but had just enough light for Robin to see what he was looking for. There! An electric panel! He took off the cover and plugged his holo glove's wire into it. "Locking out Cave's motion and heat sensors to prevent the enemy from tracking us."

"And I ask again: who is the enemy?"

Robin grinned. "Let's find out," he said, pulling up the security footage from earlier.

 _"Torque wrench."_ Wally said, and grinned when M'gann gave it to him. _"Thank you, green cheeks."_

Aqualad then spoke, _"I have been meaning to ask: any problem with juggling your school work with your responsibilities here?"_

 _"No,"_ responded Superboy, or Conner, as Robin kept reminding himself.

Wally continued to work on Connor's bike. _"Juggling's just one of my many talents. Socket wrench."_

M'gann gave him his needed too _l. "Daily cheerleading practice has presented a challenge. Oh, but my first loyalty is_ _ **always**_ _the Team. This Team, not the Bumblebees."_

 _"What of Robin and Artemis? Do you think_ _ **they**_ _will have trouble maintaining their loyalties?"_

Robin and Artemis both shared a scowl. What did Aqualad think they were doing when they weren't in school? Painting each other's nails? They spent most of their free time contributing to the hero community!

Wally paused on screen. _"Rob? Have you even met that kid? I'm pretty sure he would rather be a hero all day than anything else."_ Thank you, Wally. _"And Artemis will handle alright. I mean, how much more hostile and annoying-"_

All of a sudden, the camera was taken out.

"What happened?" Artemis demanded.

"The explosion took out the camera. I'll find another angle." They went over the footage from all other cameras, but they all had the same problem. He suppressed a groan. "That's it. All four are dead."

Artemis stiffened.

"The cameras." Robin hurried to clarify. "I-I meant the cameras. I'm sure the others are okay." Well, he sure hoped so. The thought of losing those who were like his siblings made his heart sink. He shook the feeling away. Focus on the mission. "Just give me a sec to find the fastest route to the hanger." He brought up his map again to do just that.

"Yeah, they're fine. They've all got superpowers. They can handle anything."

Robin nodded slowly, unsure of what she was trying to get at. Uh, he had powers too. Sure, it wasn't as magnificent as the others, but it still counted!

Kind of.

He closed his map and motioned for her to follow him again. They crawled through another short vent and exited through a grate leading to the library. "There's a secret passageway behind one of these bookcases," he told her as they ran down yet another staircase.

"Seriously? Cliche much?"

He let out a quiet cackle. "You should see the Bat Cave!"

Thinking about the Bat Cave made him think about his mentor, and he frowned slightly. There was a chance that he wasn't going to make it through this, and he would regret not being able to apologize to his guardian for all of the awful things he said.

Focus on the now, he told himself, worry about Bruce when this is all over.

Robin and Artemis both froze when they heard the sound of a door opening. They both snapped out of it quickly enough and drew their weapons, moving to hide behind the closest bookcase.

"Artemis. Robin." A familiar voice said, and a figure came closer to them.

Artemis perked up. "It's Red Tornado!" She jumped out of her hiding spot without a second thought, only to be met by the sight of someone who did look like Tornado, but obviously wasn't. The imposter moved to grab the blonde, but Robin tackled her out of the way before it could reach her.

"Yes on the Red, no on the Tornado!"

They ran away from the Tornado look alike, but was stopped by yet another, this one being female. She thrusted both of her arms towards the teens, and they just barely moved out of the way before she shot fire out of her hands.

Robin used the shelves to climb on top of a bookcase, and pretended the bookshelves were rooftops, springing off one and onto another in order to pursue an escaping criminal.

Except he was the one escaping. And Artemis was with him instead of Batman.

As Robin jumped off of a final case, sprinklers from the ceiling came on. Okay, he had to find what book activated the secret passage, before the water chick drowned them. As he searched, Artemis fired an arrow behind them to keep the androids occupied. He found the book just as Artemis jumped down, and they scrambled into the passage right before the bookcase could crush them.

The entryway closed, and they ran down the hallway. "Did you know Tornado had... siblings?" Artemis asked.

"No," he answered, and moved to make a turn, but was stopped when Artemis grabbed his arm.

"So now what? Tornado was one of the powerhouses of the League. How are we supposed to take down two of him?!"

"They do seem pretty user unfriendly," Robin commented with a shrug.

"Don't joke! The-"

 **"Attention Robin. Attention Artemis. You have exactly ten minutes to surrender, or the lives of your friends will be extinguished."**

Not good.

xXx

Robin and Artemis ran down the hall as fast as they could.

 **"Eight minutes."** The Tornado wannabe announced.

He ignored that for the time being. "We can access the hanger from here." The sound of rushing water was heard the second he said that, and they turned around to see another massive wave coming towards them. "Or not."

"Will you please stop saying that?" Artemis snapped as they ran away from it. They were, of course, eventually swept off of their feet again. The force of the impact made the two of them accidentally gasp, which also caused them to inhale water. Robin had no equipment with him that would help him in this kind of situation, so he simply put up with not being able to breathe.

All of a sudden, one of the androids shot through the water and grabbed Artemis by the foot, pulling her back. Robin scowled and grabbed one of the archer's arrows that were floating around, swam over to the android, and drove the point of it into his eye socket. Robin then wrapped an arm around Artemis's waist, launching a grapple line that attached itself to the furthest wall and pulled them towards it. Behind them, the android was left to deal with the multiple explosives that Robin had left him.

Soon, both Robin and Artemis were able to surface, and they took in deep, gasping breaths.

"Look out!" Someone shouted, and they dove back under water to avoid another fireball. Wow, they were having lots of close calls today.

The two of them travelled under water, resurfacing when they were close to Superboy and Kid Flash. "You guys okay?" Robin asked, looking them over for any signs of serious injuries. Luckily, there were none.

"Forget us," Superboy said, "help M'gann."

Artemis followed his gaze and spotted Kaldur in the fire cage. "Aqualad, is she-"

"She is unconscious. I fear she- we- cannot survive much longer."

That definitely didn't sound good. They needed a plan, and fast. Before Robin could say anything, Red Tornado's sister appeared and shot another blast at Robin and Artemis. They ducked under water to avoid it again, and swam towards the closest staircase. When they surfaced and climbed out of the water, Robin noticed that he lost his cape somewhere. He actually didn't mind it; in fact, the lack of weight on his shoulders felt great.

While he was distracted by these thoughts, the two of them managed to let themselves be caught in between both androids.

"I'm almost out of arrows!" Artemis hissed as the teens stood back to back.

She was low on arrows, and he was running out of ideas. Okay, first things first, they needed a way to keep in contact with their friends. And he knew just how to do that. "Distract her!" He ordered, and she obeyed by firing an arrow at the female. While she did this, Robin charged at the male and chucked a bunch of disks at him. After two, he threw one at just the right angle, and it ricocheted off of the android's body and went flying towards Kid Flash and Superboy. Robin heard the speedster yelp, and knew that it hit its target.

Robin grabbed Artemis by the arm, and they both jumped back into the water just as the two Reds fired their attacks at them simultaneously. The young heroes shot through the water and swam towards a new vent grating. The grate was quickly pulled up, and they followed the vent, following its path upward until they could finally surface.

They collapsed onto the floor, panting from the lack of oxygen.

 **"Six minutes."**

Artemis looked at him. "What do we do now?"

"We save them," he replied softly, "That's how this works."

She threw her hands up. "Maybe that's how it's supposed to work, but those robots already took out our four _superpowered_ friends!"

Again with the superpower comment? He felt a stab of annoyance, but quickly pushed it away. He was in charge right now, and couldn't let his emotions get in the way of this mission. There were several lives at stake, and it wouldn't do anyone any good if they couldn't keep their heads straight. "You seem distraught," he commented, knowing that she would react badly to it. It was best if she got all of her bad thoughts out right now, so they wouldn't distract her in the field.

"Distraught?!" She exploded, as expected. "M'gann is dying, we have no powers, and I'm down to my last arrow! Of course I'm distraught!"

"Well get traught, or get... dead." He had purposely used the word that Bruce created, finding that this life threatening situation made him really regret the fight they had.

Wait, no emotions. Bad.

He shook his head and began to move again. "How can you be so calm?" Artemis asked quietly. "You're supposed to be the panicking one. You have high anxiety, right? So how is it that you can just... do this?".

He stopped, and sighed. "Practice. Living like I have for so long makes you realize that you can't panic in battle. You have to push those feelings away, and if needed, let them out later."

It was Deathstroke who taught him this technique. During his training in Cadmus, he cried all the time and panicked anytime he so much as saw a sword. After the message was quite literally beat into him, it became a lot easier to handle. He still messed up from time to time, but he was certain that he was getting better.

... It was weird how getting amnesia in Bialya unlocked a lot of his memories, including those. There was a huge piece missing from the puzzle, but-

"There might not be a later! What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?"

.Wait. If they were machines, then Robin could use his new ability to defeat the enemy, couldn't he? He focused his mind on the area he just left, and felt the buzzing of electronics there. If he focused, then maybe he could-

No, he couldn't. They might be machines, but they still thought like human beings. Even though they weren't technically living, to completely get rid of them like that would be no different from murder.

And Robin was no murderer.

But he _did_ have a different solution. "Duh, they're machines! And one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine within range."

"Great! Except you better have an EMP emitter in your utility belt, because I know I don't have one in my quiver."

It seemed as though sarcasm was Artemis's favorite weapon whenever she was stressed. "Fresh out. But I'm betting we can make one." He pressed his hand again his communicator, which was connected to the disk that he threw towards Wally. "What do you say, KF? Doable?"

 _"Totally doable."_

 **"Five minutes."**

 **".. You know, if you had more time."**

Robin and Artemis crawled out of the vents and into the med lab, listening to Wally's instructions. As the boy commanded, Robin pulled out his holo glove and used it to convert x-rays to EMPs with a cascading energy vector directed outward. Robin then pulled one of the blue canisters out of the machine, awed by the brilliance of it. "A ripple effect. Like dropping a stone into a pond."

 _"A stone with ten to the twelfth power of wattage, yeah."_

Robin tightened his grip on the canister. This might be their only chance for everyone to walk out of this alive. "So, we need to hook it up to the Cave main generator."

"Which is where?" Artemis asked.

He smiled sheepishly and led her back through the vents, this time using the vents leading to above the glider, instead of below.

 **"Four minutes."**

"Okay," Robin whispered after making sure that neither of the androids had spotted them. He brought his hand back up to his comm. "Make with the distraction."

"Hey, Red Tomato!" KF shouted. "Who's your girlfriend, Red Onion?"

Connor joined in. "Yeah, and by the way, worst death trap ever! We can escape anytime we want."

... If this was the best they could do, Robin was going to need a serious talk with Batman about the Team's ability to distract.

"I can vibrate my molecules out of here before your binary brains can count to two."

Robin was done listening to this. "Cover me," he whispered to Artemis, connecting a line to a wall and jumping over to the platform that the generator rested on. He immediately opened the compartment door and lowered the canister inside before plugging his glove in. "Rerouting power now," he said quietly. He looked over at the androids and saw them standing exactly where they were earlier, unaffected. "It's not working." He looked it over and finally spotted the problem. "Circuit's incomplete, I need something conductible. A piece of metal-"

"ROBIN LOOK OUT!" Artemis screamed.

The boy spun around, and his eyes widened as he was met with a giant wave. There was no time to react, and absolutely no where to run. He was unable to do anything while the water pulled him off of the edge of the platform and submerged him completely.

A couple of bubbles came out of his mouth as he cried out in shock, which was a big mistake because it used up all of his oxygen. He tried to remain calm, but he couldn't breathe. _He seriously couldn't breathe._

Stay traught, he told himself. 'Act like you've drowned before you actually do.'

He closed his eyes and let his body fall limp, faking unconsciousness. His body wanted to thrash around in all directions, but he stubbornly held still. He had to keep up the act...stall for time... he had to...

It wasn't an act anymore.

xXx

Everything was dark. He wasn't aware of anything, really. It was like there was fog over his mind.

 **"Power shutting down."** A robotic voice mentally informed him. Why did that matter? He was sleeping...

Something was wrong, though. It was difficult to breathe. Was he even breathing at this point? Hm...

 _He was alone._

That didn't feel right. Bruce? Barbara? Where were they? Alfred, and Wally?

A hand fell onto his head, and another on his chest. Was it... Bruce? He forced his eyes to open, coughing as he did so. Both of his eyes narrowed against the sudden sight of bright light, but he managed to make out the form of Artemis. Oh, right! The androids!

"He- he's breathing too!"

She must have been talking to one of their Teammates, and since she was speaking so freely, it must've meant that she was able to fix the circuit.

They won.

"Way to get traught," he said, smiling weakly.

...

"Figured my only shot was to "surrender," pretend to drown before I actually did. Blacked out though," Robin told the gathered Team. M'gann and Kaldur were recovering from their bad experience with fire, while Wally and Connor received no serious injuries from the course of the drawn out battle. Robin was relieved that everyone was okay, but wasn't sure about what they would do if the androids woke up.

He was too exhausted to fight.

"M'gann," Connor said softly, holding his hand out.

The Martian smiled and took it. "I'll be fine," she assured in a tired voice.

Woah, they were holding hands? Did that mean that they were a thing? It was about time! All that was left was for Artemis and Wally to admit they had feelings for each other.

Well, _he_ wasn't in a hurry to find someone for himself just yet. Actually, that thought rarely ever crossed his mind. He had been distracted by so many things that he never considered himself to be a relationship kind of guy. Well, there was one person he could see himself dating, but...

"Will you quit playing with that thing and cut us free already?" Wally snapped.

Artemis glared. "It's not working, genius. EMP shuts down all machines, remember?"

"All machines present at the time," Red Tornado added as he entered the room. Robin nearly had a heart attack just from hearing his voice. The other Reds really messed with his head. "What has occurred?"

Robin answered with, "Had a little visit from your family."

"Your extremely nasty family," Artemis put in.

"I was not aware I had relations."

Connor frowned. "Where have you been?"

"Monitor duty in the Watchtower." Red walked over to the fallen androids. "When it became clear that Cave communications were down, I attempted to investigate, but your Zeta Tubes were also malfunctional." He knelt down next to the two. "I transported to Province, and proceeded here."

Sphere then made a whirring noise as it removed itself from the crater in the wall. Superboy watched it, relaxing slightly. "Hey, boy."

A red beam shot out of the object Artemis was holding just as Robin's chip said, **"Rebooting..."**

That could only mean one thing. "The pulse has worn off!" He and KF exclaimed at the same time. Everyone stared at the three androids, falling silent as Tornado gently touched one of their hands.

And then there was more chaos.

All of a sudden, Red Tornado sprung off of the ground and into the air, generating twisters to suck away all of the oxygen in the room. Robin gasped and grabbed at his throat desperately as he struggled to breathe, and fell to his knees. His vision blurred, and he let out one final, strangled gasp before falling to the side, unconscious once again.

xXx

"Dick. Dick, you need to wake up."

Dick groaned, but complied, automatically obeying the familiar deep voice. He forced his eyes open, and saw that it was Batman who woke him. His first thought was him wondering if he accidentally fell asleep while he was getting ready for patrol. Oops? "Sorry," he mumbled tiredly, slumping forward and being caught by Batman.

"Dick, snap out of it."

He blinked slowly, trying to piece together what happened. Finally, he remembered: Red Tornado attacked them! His eyes widened, and he searched the room for the traitorous android, only to find that he was in the Bat Cave instead of the Mountain. "Wha-"

"The others already told me what happened. You were still unconscious, so I brought you here."

Oh. That made sense. "Why'd you wake me up?"

"To make sure you weren't seriously injured. You don't seem to have a concussion, which is good. Give me a list of your injuries."

He waited for his chip to give him the list, but it was strangely quiet. "Probably just a few minor burns and bruises. I didn't get hurt too bad."

"Hmm. Fine."

"Did you find the Reds?"

Bruce pulled his cowl off and moved towards the Bat Computer. "No."

The lack of detailed answers made him wince. "You're mad at me."

The man narrowed his eyes. "You ran away without telling me where you were going. I tried to use the Zeta Tube to get to the Cave, but your Tubes were down. I even tried contacting you through your communicator, but that wouldn't work either." He ran a hand over his face. "So no, I'm not mad, but you have no idea how worried I was."

"... I'm sorry."

A blink. "What?"

"I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of those things I said, I shouldn't have ran away, and I'm sorry for worrying you."

Bruce slowly turned around, and regarded him for a second. Finally, his expression softened. "Me too. I also said some things that I shouldn't have." He sighed and returned to where Dick was, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll stop pestering you about being Robin. I finally realized that it wasn't right for me to try and force you out of doing something you love."

Dick grinned. "It's alright, Bruce. Seriously, all I could think about while I was fighting those androids was how much I regretted our fight."

A nod. "I thought the same when I couldn't find you. I thought you were..." he shook his head. "Anyways, Artemis told me about how you remained calm and took control of the entire situation. Dick, that's a big accomplishment for someone with your high levels of anxiety."

'I'm proud of you,' is what Dick translated from that.

"I'll probably have a few nightmares to make up for it," he joked. "Maybe even have a panic attack the next time I see a tomato."

"...A tomato?"

"Blame Wally. He's really bad at distractions."

Bruce chuckled and nodded. "I believe that. So, how did fight really go? I think Artemis left out some information."

Dick grinned knowingly and launched into the tale, adding sound affects and exaggerated hand motions as he did so. Bruce listened to his every word, chuckling and making light comments every once in a while. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with him again, and his traitorous eyes drooped. Bruce took over with the conversation, going on and on about absolutely nothing. Eventually, Dick dozed off, falling against his guardian.

He later woke, recognizing his ceiling above him. Wait, Dick didn't fall asleep there, right? Heh, Bruce was such a softy, bringing him up to his bed after he passed out. And people said that he didn't have a heart.

It was good to be home.

xXx

 **AN: There's some good hints about the future right here. They're good, but they're also decently hidden. In time, one should be able to piece everything together. Or just wait until I tell everyone. That works too. xD**

 **Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'll see you all next chapter.**


	12. Murderous Instincts

**AN: Lots of things have been changed in this eepisode.**

xXx

Robin was extremely agitated.

Leaguers swarmed the Mountain in order to repair the damage that was done, and the noise did not help him with trying to focus on the silent chip in his head. Sure, he had always complained about the information it randomly saved, and the buzzing noise that it made when he was near technology was annoying, but he had grown to depend on it for certain things. Hacking was ten times easier when he took the mental route, and researching specific people could be accomplished in mere seconds.

Besides, the lack of buzzing in his head was starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

There was the sound of a spoon hitting glass as Green Arrow put a bowl of cereal down in front of Kid Flash. The redhead glanced over and gave him a grumpy scowl. "Thanks, but no thanks," he mumbled. Robin blinked slowly, and gave him a strange sideways glance. If Wally was here rejecting an offer of food, then he was most definitely angry. This betrayal didn't seem to sit well with anyone on the Team, now that he thought of it.

"Yeah, what we want is answers about Red Tornado and his siblings!" Artemis added, sharing a glare with Wally before directing her heated gaze towards Arrow.

Robin's computer chip made a humming noise that nearly made him jump, but it went silent just as quickly. He narrowed his eyes and huffed, crossing his arms. This was not the time for a malfunction! The EMP should have only temporarily shut his systems down, and not send them into an indefinite period of silence. He would not be able to concentrate on anything with his chip acting up like this.

He was brought to the present when Kid Flash snatched the cereal bowl away from Green Arrow, and then proceeded to shove spoonfuls of food into his mouth. He apparently gave into the hunger he was sure to be experiencing. Ah, there was the Wally that he knew.

Robin was going to make a teasing comment, but was interrupted by a shouted, "You knew?!" Everyone spun around and watched as Aqualad was suddenly shoved into a wall by an enraged Superboy. "That android and his maniac family nearly _killed_ M'gann!" The venom in the clone's voice made Robin shiver. That was the sound of someone who was about to lose it and break some bones.

"Connor, what are you doing?" M'gann squeaked as she flew to his side.

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor in the Team, and said nothing!" He hissed in reply.

The entire world seemed to freeze, and the air was knocked out of Robin's lungs. A traitor? Did he mean... _him_? He suddenly felt the eyes of both Batman and Kid Flash on his back, and forced himself to relax. He didn't betray anyone, not on purpose in any case. There was no reason for him to feel any guilt. Besides, Aqualad would have at least spoken to him if he had suspected that he was a spy.

But, that also meant that it had to have been somebody else, and who else could it have been but the very android who betrayed them not too long ago? The very idea made him a little uneasy; he used to sleep in the Mountain all the time, and it would have been all too easy for Red Tornado to hurt him. Then again, Red never showed any signs of being an enemy. Something wasn't adding up in this story. Even though Robin didn't know Tornado very long, he could sense that the android had more emotion than most inorganic beings would. At some times, the android had spoken to them in an almost affectionate way, like one would to their children. This act of betrayal just didn't seem right.

'Computer, I need all information on any spies the Light has in the League,' he told his chip.

Silence.

Go figure...

Kid Flash had stopped staring at him, and was now glaring at Aqualad. "You knew?"

Aqualad opened his mouth to speak, but had no time to say anything as another voice spoke up, "And you didn't think to, I don't know... tell us?!" Artemis marched up behind Superboy, face contorted with anger.

"I sought to protect the Team-" Kaldur started, but was interrupted.

"Protect us from _what_?" The blonde demanded with a snarl. "Knowledge that might have saved our lives?!"

Robin winced as he thought back to his drowning experience. Yeah, it would've been great if he could've avoided that entirely. Thanks, Kaldur.

"Enough," Batman ordered suddenly, bringing everyone's attention to him. "With Red Tornado... missing, the Team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take first shift."

A tall, muscular man walked forward and stood beside Batman. His uniform consisted of a red outfit with a lightning bolt symbol on his torso, and a cape that only managed to cover one of his shoulders. A bright smile was on the man's face, an expression far too innocent to belong to someone of that age. "I'm really looking forward to hanging with you guys," he chirped. Robin stared at him uncertainly, wondering why a grown man would use such childish language. His chip was still unresponsive, so he was not able to look him up, and that made his already sour mood worsen. What if Captain Marvel was another spy? It was unlikely, but without his chip, it brought his usual paranoia up to the next level.

Superboy ignored both Leaguers, choosing to send a glare at Kaldur instead. "After I dismantle Red Tornado, you and I are gonna-"

Batman interrupted with, "Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League. That makes him a _League_ responsibility. You _will_ leave him to us." He gave Connor a stern glare, making it clear that there was no room for argument. "I have another assignment for this Team."

He waved a hand, and a holographic computer appeared with newspaper articles on screen. Robin blinked slowly as he read the screen, confusion turning into surprise, and finally, annoyance. 'Gorilla Trades Bananas For Bullets?' He couldn't be serious. Batman was really improving on his 'annoy Robin' skills. Giving the Team lame missions like this was a great way to make him want to murder his mentor.

Murder...?

He shook his head to clear it, just as Kid Flash spoke, sounding just as miffed as he was, "'Gotham mayor attacked by Gorilla gorilla?'" He read, voice low with disbelief. "Was this the only thing he could find to distract us?" He directed this towards Robin, who bristled.

The fact that it was _his_ mentor sending them on this stupid mission was embarrassing. "Batman, please tell me you're not seriously having us go on this joke of a wild ape chase."

Eyes narrowed in his direction, but he met the gaze head on. They had _just_ gotten over their last fight, so what do they do? Get into another. Maybe this was their newest thing: getting into arguments every few hours just to keep each other on their toes. Robin's lips twitched downwards in a confused frown as he wondered what happened to make this happen in the first place.

"I _never_ joke about the Mission," his mentor growled out, and the wording made him flinch. Right, he _was_ talking to the man who was willing to sacrifice everything for the Mission. Everything except him, he reminded himself. He then felt himself relax, and allowed himself to feel guilty. Why did he always have a need to lash out at Batman? Batman's posture relaxed ever so slightly, as though he sensed his change in mood. "I've checked the sources. I've studied the patterns. Mayor Hill's is only the latest in a series of incidents. Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and check this out."

Aqualad nodded, but his face was lined with uncertainty. Robin had to admit that he too felt a tiny bit of resentment towards Kaldur for not letting anyone know there was a traitor. If it had not been Red Tornado, there was a large chance that the mole would have been _him_ , and he wouldn't have even known about it because Aqualad would have stayed silent. If they were all a Team, wasn't there supposed to be trust?

Sighing, he elected to keep his emotions buried, and proceeded to follow the Team into the bioship. Before they were able to file inside, they noticed that Marvel was following them. "You're coming with?" Robin asked, frowning at him. No, there was no way that the League was sending a _babysitter_ to go with!

"Yep, it'll be a blast!" The man said cheerfully.

...If he was still an assassin, he would have reacted very violently.

xXx

Robin's masked eyes scanned over the thick jungle, hand close to his belt in case he found any trouble. Aqualad had sent him and Artemis to scout the area for any enemies (just being ordered around made him bristle), and the two had begrudgingly agreed to it. The jungle was humming with insects, owls, and other hidden creatures, but there was no sign of a potential enemy.

"All clear," he called to the others.

Aqualad, and the others soon joined the two, and the Atlantian did a quick double check before nodding to himself. Robin glared at him in response; what, was he not trusted enough to do something as simple as scouting?! "Switch to stealth," the Atlantian said, pressing the front of his uniform to make the red colors change grey, "we will review mission perimeters."

Kid Flash also switched his colors to a more darker tone. "Perimeters? We don't need no stinkin' perimeters. It's recon, we know what to do!"

Robin made a noise of agreement, and Aqualad frowned. "Kid, Robin-"

"You started this Team because the League was keeping secrets from you!" Robin interrupted, teeth bared. "Or did you forget that, like you forgot to tell us about the mole?"

Aqualad's mouth snapped shut, and he regarded Robin with a look that was borderline fearful. The younger boy didn't care, turning on his heel and stomping into the foliage. Kid Flash was at his side at an instant, watching him carefully. They walked side by side in silence for a minute, before the speedster spoke, "Are you alright? I've never seen you snap like that before."

Robin glanced at him, and took in his worried expression. After another period of silence, he sighed. "The whole mole thing really threw me off."

"I figured it would." A frown. "But what was Aqualad thinking, not telling us something like this? You nearly drowned when the Reds attacked us! That could've been avoided if we were able to take necessary precautions!"

"Yeah..." Logic finally got a grip at him, and he put himself in Aqualad's shoes. If he knew that there was a mole in the Team, he probably wouldn't have said anything either. He wouldn't want the traitor to know that anyone was onto them. Still, anger managed to cloud his judgement. He had a lot of pent of rage, and Aqualad gave him the perfect opportunity to get rid of all of it. He was about to make another spiteful comment when he heard it: the sound of flapping wings. _Big_ wings, if he was correct. "I hear something," he whispered, and led Kid Flash further into the jungle and towards the ledge of a cliff. He then pulls his binoculars out and placed them in front of his eyes. He was greeted with the sight of humongous vultures, of all things, racing towards them with their talons pointed towards their heads. Robin hurriedly dropped his binoculars, and pulled Kid out of the way, the birds' claws barely ruffling the boys' hair. That was way too close for comfort.

Instead of fretting over nearly losing his head, he switched into hero mode, and took action. "I thought vultures only ate dead meat!" Robin shouted, pulling an explosive disk out of his utility belt and throwing it at the birds. The vultures tilted their bodies to avoid it, and it sailed right past them. As the disk exploded behind them, Robin and Kid Flash scrambled back to their feet and bolted.

"Well, these are some really proactive scavengers!" Kid Flash commented, branches scratching at his arms as they hurriedly dodged the vicious attacks.

"Proactive and supersized!" Robin added, referring to their large size and abnormal amount of muscle. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Kobra venom?"

"Yeah!"

Twigs scraped against his skin as he ran through the jungle, and Kid Flash eventually burst ahead of him to fight in his own style. Robin didn't mind. In fact, it made it easier. He no longer had to keep himself in the speedster's sight, and could use the darkness of the jungle at last.

Memories of stealth training in the Bat Cave surfaced, and he didn't think twice before leaping onto the lowest tree branch and slinking into the shadows. A bird flew right past his hiding spot in the darkness, and he threw a bolas after it immediately, grinning when it brought it down. He was about to go after KF when sharp talons dug into his shoulders from behind, and he was lifted off of his perch and into the air. Robin shouted and struggled to escape from the grip, but found that the claws dug into him even more. It was during his thrashing that he finally took notice of the inhibitor collar that adorned the vulture's neck. He barely had time to ponder over it when a flash of black slammed into the bird, and all three of them fell straight down.

Robin grunted as he made impact with the ground, and barely managed to move before he was again attacked by another vulture. Damn, these guys were persistent! He rolled to the side to avoid a claw to the eye, and threw another bolas. The vulture twisted itself out of the way and screeched before using its wing to swipe at him. Robin flipped over the bird's head to avoid the attack, and then pulled out his escrima sticks. He pushed a switch on his thumbs, and they were suddenly electrified, not hurting him because of his gloves. One quick jab was all it took: the vulture shrieked loudly before going limp, it's unconscious body twitching every so often.

Kid Flash appeared next to him again. "Dude, are you okay?! I heard-" his eyes moved to the bird, and his mouth fell open in shock. "Did you just...?"

"I didn't kill it," Robin assured with a small frown, not liking the implication. "It's unconscious."

"Oh," the redhead visibly relaxed, and he no longer looked fearful, "well, are you hurt?"

Robin felt the sting of the cuts on his shoulders as he shook his head. "Not too badly. You?"

"Nothing that a speedster can't heal in five-"

 _"Link established,"_ M'gann suddenly announced in their minds.

 _"Should you really still be giving us orders?"_ Artemis huffed. _"And should you really be following them?"_ This was directed towards Miss Martian, whose annoyance radiated through the link.

 _"Listen, please,"_ Aqualad tried, but only received more anger in response.

 _"Oh, good, Aqualad's voice in my head. I've so missed that."_ KF thought sourly, glancing at Robin.

Robin realized that they were probably supposed to report what they found. _"Hey, Kaldur, KF and I were attacked by giant vultures!"_ He said with false cheerfulness.

 _"'Course, since we're moles, you probably think we attacked ourselves."_

 _"If he did, he wouldn't tell you."_ Just like everything else, he silently added.

M'gann finally spoke again, _"Superboy, are you online or just pouting?"_

Connor answered with, _"Busy. Call back later."_

Kid Flash ignored the couple, turning towards Robin and acting like the rest couldn't hear him. _"What gets me is how nonchalant he is about not telling us."_

Robin smirked. He had been waiting for this very moment. _"He should be chalant."_ He said through the link, and was pretty sure he heard Artemis make an exaggerated groan in response. Success!

Kid snickered. _"Way chalant."_

 _"How can he be team leader when he doesn't even trust us with his secrets?"_

 _"Or if Connor doesn't trust us to take care of ourselves!"_ M'gann added.

Kid Flash huffed. _"Did you really think I could be the mole? We've known each other for years!"_

The amount of voices crowding together in Robin's head was starting to give him a headache. Okay, everyone got it, Aqualad was an ass for not telling them anything. He agreed at a certain point, but the frenzy of noises...

 _People were surrounding him at all sides, the flashes of light made his head hurt, and their chattering voices came together in a cluster of noise..._

His tolerance of the noise was slowly crumbling, and he narrowed his eyes at no one in particular as he fought against the urge to shout.

 _"Trust is a two way street!"_

 _"And you know everyone else would hate it if we kept secrets from them-"_

 _"Not that we'd do that!"_

Robin was just about to explode, but Aqualad beat him to it. _"Enough!"_ The Atlantian snapped, a rush of anger flowing through the link from his side. Robin visibly flinched, and Kid Flash winced. _"Captain Marvel has been captured, and we must act as a team if we are to save him."_

Kid Flash brushed his earlier surprise away and scoffed. _"Under your leadership? I don't think so-"_

 _"This is not up for debate!"_ Aqualad thundered dangerously. " _You all chose me to lead. When the mission is over, if you choose to select a new leader, I will happily step down. But until that time, I am in command here. Return to the bioship. We will discuss the plan there."_

The entire team fell silent, too shocked to make any other remark. Robin shook his nerves away, but found that it was a difficult task. Damn it, he hated it when people rose their voice!

God, he was pathetic.

If Kid noticed his discomfort, he didn't comment on it. "We'd better get back," he said instead.

Robin nodded after pulling himself together. "Let's go."

xXx

After Aqualad had snapped, the Team met up back at the bioship. Everyone was still unhappy with each other, but had decided to wait until the mission was over until they would start arguing again. The only one missing was Superboy, and he didn't answer through the mental link. Aqualad decided to leave him alone, thinking that he was probably trying to calm himself down before attempting to be civil.

After they regrouped, they went back into the jungle, acting as one once again. The shadows gave Robin confidence, and while the Team struggled to see where they were going, he remained a couple of feet in front of them at all times. If there wasn't anyone looking for them, he would have cackled, just to hear the way the sound would bounce off the trees and echoed everywhere. That, and to freak everyone out. He always found immense joy in that.

It wasn't long before a dark building was in their sights, the place where Captain Marvel had been taken. After receiving a nod from Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash crept forward, inching towards the building. After a few feet, Robin stopped and threw a hand out to make KF do the same, spotting some metal rods sticking out of the ground. Something about this just screamed "force field." Kid Flash nodded to him, being able to see the field with his goggles. That was the only thing Robin needed, and he brought up his holo computer on his glove. At times like this, using his chip would have been nice...

 _"I'll fly over."_ M'gann suggested.

Kid Flash shook his head. _"Negative. The field stands as a dome around the entire compound."_

 _"The pylons are insulated,"_ Robin pointed out. _"But one good shock could cause a momentary gap."_

 _"I see a target,"_ Artemis said.

 _"Then be ready to hit it,"_ Aqualad said in return. _"Be ready, all of you."_ KF glanced at Robin, and sent him a quick grin. Robin returned it, tensing his muscles in preparation.

Aqualad marched up to the field, tattoos glowing as he plunged his hands into the shield. With a grunt, he pried his hands away from each other, slowly creating a small hole in the field.

 _"Now!"_ Kid Flash mentally shouted, eyes fixed on the gap that his goggles allowed him to see. Artemis responded by quickly firing an arrow into the hole, which flew through the air and smacked against a panel inside. The panel sparked, and a made a quiet buzzing noise, before dying out and letting the force field go down. Aqualad waved the Team over, and they followed him towards the building.

 **"Danger alerrrr..."** Robin's chip suddenly alerted him, but died out before it could complete it's statement. The boy narrowed his eyes as he continued forward, keeping vigilante. There was danger? Where?

His question was answered when a monkey on the roof let out a piercing shriek. Everyone jumped in surprise, and automatically went into their battle positions. Robin kept a birdarang and an explosive disk at the ready, waiting for an opponent. A loud alarm rang throughout the grounds as an army of monkeys charged towards them from all directions. Without much thought, Robin threw his disk at the closest primate, sending it backwards. No time was given to him to retrieve another disk as another monkey took the other's place. He ducked and somersaulted away to avoid a furry fist that crashed into the ground behind him, and twisted his body around so that he was able to kick the monkey in the stomach. The animal made an angry noise, but was otherwise unaffected. Robin grit his teeth; he was almost useless in a close combat fight like this!

As he moved away to get some space in between him and his opponents, another monkey grabbed him from behind, using his cape to keep him in place. The sound of the fabric tearing as Robin struggled made his blood boil. _Batman_ gave him that! He threw his birdarang at the primate's face, who shrieked in alarm and dropped him. Robin landed in a crouch, and used a series of hand springs to get himself away. When he was at a safe distance, he caught sight of his friends struggling to defeat their own monkeys. If they couldn't do anything, then they were in trouble.

Suddenly, two of the monkeys teamed up to tackle him onto the ground. The breath was knocked out of his lungs, and he let out a startled cry as he was forced to avoid the primate's sharp teeth. Their mouths were so close to his face that he could smell their rotting breath. Gross.

"Remove their collars!" Aqualad shouted from somewhere in the distance.

Robin grunted in response. "Sounds easy... when he says it," he said breathlessly. Before his monkey had the chance to finally tear his head off, an arrow connected with it's collar and it fell off. The monkey blinked down at him and made a disgruntled noise before scurrying away. Robin stood up and turned to thank Artemis, but saw two monkeys coming up to her from behind. In seconds, he threw a couple of birdarangs at their collars. Artemis flashed him a grateful smile, and he returned it almost immediately.

Their moment of calmness was short- lived; the door to the building opened up, revealing a giant ape with a machine gun, a wig on its head, and another army of monkeys behind him. The ape acted immediately by grabbing Miss Martian and throwing her onto the ground. Kid Flash sped over to her to help, leaving the rest of the Team to deal with the smaller monkeys.

Artemis and Robin shared a look, and nodded in understanding. The archer drew and arrow while the acrobat brought out his escrima sticks. The two of them took out the collars on the monkeys, while Aqualad hammered the ape with his powerful fists. Robin used a birdarang to take out the last of the monkeys just in time to watch Miss Martian throw the ape straight through the compound's wall.

"Let's go," Robin called to Artemis, and the two of them ran into the newly created entrance and grouped up with the rest of the Team.

In the dark room they had entered was Captain Marvel, who was strapped down on a medical table and surrounded by surgical equipment. Robin nearly thought the worst, but was reassured once he saw that the Leaguer looked to be okay. His eyes then moved to the figure at Marvel's side. Was that... a brain? Whatever it was, it made him nervous for some reason. Has he seen it before?

"It's the Brain!" Kid Flash exclaimed. Wait, _the_? Was that like how Joker was referred to as _the_ Joker? That was a high title for a body part floating inside of a container.

Artemis snorted, "I can see it's a brain, Kid Idiot."

"Not _a_ brain, _the_ Brain!"

The organ rolled itself towards the heroes, somehow, and the ape climbed back up to his feet to stand next to... it. "In ze flesh," it said in a metallic voice. If this wasn't so serious, Robin would have asked it how it was able to communicate. It must've taken a lot of work to get a brain to be able to talk without a body, right? "Or so to speak." It turned to the monkey. "Mallah!"

The ape, Mallah, pulled out a small remote and pressed a red button. All of a sudden, metal rods came out of the ground and surrounded the heroes at all sides. Blue beams of energy was produced from them, and it took a split second for it to send the teens to their knees. Robin struggled to control his body, but his muscles were too weak to pick himself off of the ground. Was that what the machine was built for? To make a prisoner too weak to function?

 _"Miss Martian, Superboy, now!"_ Aqualad mentally commanded.

Miss Martian's eyes began to glow, and Mallah made a surprised noise as his remote was suddenly torn away. The device hovered over the martian's face, and with a click, she switched the device off. As the muscle weakening power left him, Robin slowly climbed back up to his feet. Feeling more confident now that he could move, he reached into his belt and produced another birdarang. Next to him, his teammates fell into their own battle stances.

An explosion made them all turn, and suddenly Superboy burst through the other wall. His shirt was torn in several places, and shallow claw marks covered his skin. A giant white wolf that had the obvious affects of Cobra Venom stood at the clone's side.

With a snarl, it leapt at the ape and knocked it onto the ground.

Kid Flash then launched himself at the monkey, slamming his foot into his torso before rebounding and speeding away. Mallah shot after him with his gun, but Kid was easily able to avoid the bullets with his speed. Robin shot his grapple at a ledge on the ceiling and swung at the ape next, using his feet to hit Mallah in the face as he moved across the room. He landed and spun around just in time to see Miss Martian use her telekinesis to pick up the ape and slam him into the ground. Enraged, Mallah fired his gun at her, but she turned invisible and floated out of the way. While the ape was distracted, Superboy ran towards him to deliver a powerful punch.

Artemis pulled out a few explosive arrows and rapidly sent them at the ape, and Robin somersaulted over to her to do the same with his disks. Aqualad dodged several of Brain's laser beams and slowly led it over to where Mallah was. As soon as the Team had both villains surrounded, the Atlantian retreated and went to the surgical table to rescue Captain Marvel.

Robin smirked as he brought out two more birdarangs. They now had a Leaguer to help them, so it was almost impossible for Mallah and the Brain to be able to defeat them. They were already victorious! Mallah seemed to think the same, because he let out a loud, angry roar as he bared his fists. Anger issues, maybe?

Superboy gave the ape a glare. "Try it. I hate monkeys."

Brain wheeled itself over to its partner's side. "No, Mallah. Zis will not be our Waterloo."

Brain's body began to expand into a bigger machine, and a low whine began to sound, getting louder and louder with each second. Robin narrowed his eyes at his foe. That certainly didn't look like any weapon he has seen before.

"Au revoir, mes amis" the Brain said as he began to retreat.

The machine let out an even louder whine, which made Kid Flash holler, "Get down!"

Instead of ducking like his teammates, Robin surged forward and chased after Brain and Mallah, ignoring his friend's surprised voices when the lights went out behind him. Ha, so it wasn't a weapon! His hunch was correct! He grinned to himself as he threw his body onto Mallah's back, pulling on his shoulders to force him to fall back. As the ape let out a surprised shout, he jumped off of him to avoid being squished.

"Ah, ze Renegade."

Robin paused, eyes widening. How did he know that he was Renegade?

Mallah climbed back up to his feet and picked him up by his shoulders, taking advantage of his surprise. Robin snapped out of it and grit his teeth as he struggled to escape from his grip. Okay, not good. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to charge after these two on his own.

"Robin! Where are you?!" He heard someone call from inside the building, sounding worried.

Brain looked displeased, if that was possible. "Ze children will be looking for you, vhich means zat I do not have time to call ze Deathstroke to inform him of your whereabouts."

The acrobat stopped his struggling, heart racing in his chest. Shit, Brain was affiliated with Deathstroke? How did he not know that?!

"Robin!" Someone else shouted in the distance, sounding closer than the last.

"It cannot be helped. We must leave ze Robin here." This was directed towards Mallah as it rolled closer to the squirming child. "Falling-"

He heard another word, he knows that he did, but he couldn't remember it. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he quickly was met with the depths of unconsciousness. He was barely able to wonder what Brain had used to take him down before everything went black.

xXx

"Dick, wake up."

"Unng," was the only thing he was able to produce as he curled up in a tight ball. Ugh, his head hurt so much...

There was a sigh. "Dick, I need you to open your eyes for a few seconds so I can check you over."

Dick groaned and forced his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was the exhausted form of his guardian. "I really have to stop being knocked out," he mumbled.

Bruce smiled faintly. "That is starting to become a pattern, isn't it?"

He helped Dick sit up, who looked around the Bat Cave to see if he could figure out what had happened. "So, uh, what was it this time? Another android?"

The small smile faded away, replaced by a look of concern. "You don't remember?"

Oh yeah, that was a bad thing. Amnesia wasn't something to take lightly, right? Dick frowned and tried to piece together what happened to knock him unconscious. "There was that thing about Aqualad not telling us there was a mole," he said slowly, "and then we went to India, I think? We fought a lot of animals with those inhibitor collars on them, and then we broke into the Brain's hideout to save Marvel." He bit his lip as he tried to remember anything else. "That's about it. Kid Flash told us to get down, and that's the last thing I remember."

Bruce shook his head. "You ignored Kid Flash and went after Brain and Mallah on your own. It took them five minutes to get to your location, but by that time, you were unconscious, and the two villains were no where to be seen."

Dick's eyebrows came together, and he struggled to recall what happened while he was alone with the two. "Sorry, but everything after KF telling us to duck is totally blank. Think Brain could have wiped my memory with something that also knocked me out?"

"That's... unlikely, but not entirely impossible." He nodded shortly. "In any case, I need to check you over for a concussion. It's possible that you hit your head hard enough to give you memory problems."

"That would explain the headache," Dick muttered. "If I'm perfectly fine, can we go on patrol?" He asked hopefully.

Bruce chuckled. "If you're up for it. Besides," his eyes shone with amusement, "you haven't driven the Bat Mobile yet."

Dick grinned in return. "Awesome!"

xXx

"You have to be patient. We had an agreement."

"I trained him, just like you asked. He should have completed his task a long time ago."

The first man frowned. "Perhaps stalking him all the time isn't helping. See, fear is an emotion that can work to counter-"

"I'm well aware of what fear can do to him, Luther," the second snapped, scowling under his mask. "I was hoping that his fear would work in my favor, and influence him to work faster."

"I understand why you would think that. You were hoping that being afraid would agitate him enough to give in and accomplish his task quickly?" Luthor shook his head. "Unfortunately, it did not work out in that way. You seemed to have made his Mission recede."

Deathstroke glared. "I understand that now." He took in a deep breath to calm himself. "Maybe if he wasn't keeping track of the entire League and their secrets, he would finish sooner."

"The Light has decided to have him do this in case it could relate to the Second Stage. You understand why, I'm sure."

"Hn. And what about the malfunction he's experiencing?"

There was a dismissive wave of the hand. "The EMP was not something we were expecting. Think of it as a small glitch in the system. It wasn't ready to be forcefully shut down, and its programming didn't prepare it for that sort of scenario. Give it some time, and the boy will be able to fix it himself. How he does it is up to him, but the Light does not think it is necessary to intervene just yet."

"Renegade's Mission is dependent on the programming in that chip!"

"Relax, we are in no need for him to complete his Mission just yet." When Deathstroke gave him a dirty look, he smiled coldly. "Well, you certainly are in a rush. Patience is key to getting rid of the League. They are as much of a nuisance to you as they are to us, as you know. Do not fret, you will have your apprentice before the new year begins, and that is a promise."

xXx

 **AN: Sorry for the wait! Schoolwork has been keeping me from updating during the weak. Yeah, bad excuse, but I'm bad at multitasking.**

 **Thanks for all of the comments and votes! See you next chapter!**


	13. Injustice

**AN: Guys, there's about sixteen chapters after this one, which means that this will be continuing for a long time before it ends. I'm not sure how anyone will feel about that, but I figured that I would give you a heads up.**

 **Enjoy!**

xXx

Robin launched himself towards Kaldur in hopes of landing an attack, but being the skillful Atlantian he was, Aqualad saw it coming and was easily able to dodge.

The Team leader and his second in command were sparring in the Mountain, with Zatara and Captain Marvel watching from the sidelines. Batman ditched Robin earlier in order to continue investigating the Arkham breakout that happened a few days ago, and the acrobat had no desire to remain in the Manor. Going to the Mountain seemed to be the most logical choice, since he could possibly make himself useful there. Aqualad was the only other Team member available at the time, and when the Atlantian offered to have a practice fight with the bored acrobat, Robin had hurriedly agreed. The small part of him, the one that always felt that he needed to prove himself, flourished as the two boys fought. If he could take down the leader of the Team, or even prove that they were equals, then he could finally let himself believe that he was just as good as the rest of the young heroes.

Motivated, Robin spun on his heel and threw himself back at his opponent. Aqualad waited until they were only inches away from each other when he finally took the offensive, aiming a punch at Robin's head. Robin instinctively ducked to avoid it and used a back spring to bring himself to safety, with Aqualad following closely behind. When the older teen caught up, he attempted at another swing, but the acrobat was able to block it with one arm and counter. Points they've earned or lost appeared over their heads as Aqualad back flipped to avoid his attack. The two of them eyed each other from separate sides of the ring before simultaneously relaxing out of their stances, and the training program shut itself off. It looked as though they were equally matched, Robin thought with a grin. That meant that he improved during his training with Batman.

M'gann and Connor then entered the room with Wolf, giving each other a dreamy eyed stare that made Robin roll his eyes. At this point, it would be impossible for them to make their relationship any more obvious. He leaned closer to Aqualad. "You know they're a couple, right?" He whispered.

The Atlantian regarded the two as well. "I believe I knew before they did."

Just then, Wally and Artemis also walked into the room together. Robin remembered how they both seemed to have developed feelings for either the clone or the martian, and couldn't help but feel bad for them. "Do we tell them?"

"It is not our place."

Aqualad wasn't a fan of gossiping, then. He could respect that.

Their other teammates finally joined them at the training ring, and Wally gave the Captain a disdainful frown. "So if Zatara is our babysitter this week, then why is _he_ still here?" This was directed towards Marvel, who was munching on food next to the magician. "And why is he eating my snacks?!"

Before anyone could reply, a Zeta Tube lit up. **"Recognized: Batman, 02."** The Dark Knight walked out of the bright stream of light and briskly came towards the other heroes.

"Computer, national news," he ordered without prior greeting.

The holographic image of a blonde news reporter appeared. _"The initial attack was short-lived,"_ she announced, sounding grave, _"but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve. And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight."_ The footage changed to show the figures of several Leaguers attempting to take the plant down, but no one seemed to be successful so far.

"Should we go out there?" Robin asked. The only reason why Batman would be showing them this would be if the League wanted their assistance, right?"

Batman turned around. "No. The League will soon have the situation under control; that's not why I'm here." A picture of Sportsmaster appeared on the screen. "According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' blockbuster formula to Kobra."

"Who combined it with Bane's venom to create Kobra Venom," Wally added.

"Which the Brain used to create his animal army," Robin continued.

"And upgrade Wolf." Connor scratched the animal under its chin affectionately.

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at the Belle Reve penitentiary." M'gann said.

Artemis frowned. "Batman, is it possible that plant thingy's on Kobra Venom, too?"

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis. The plant cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant." Robin hummed and brought up his own keyboard, intending to find more information about this plant attack.

Aqualad spoke up, "These cannot be coincidences, unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide."

"Exactly," his mentor agreed. "It is clear that our enemies formed some sort of secret society for super villains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

"Got that right." Robin brought up images of other cities that were also facing similar issues. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham city, Paris, Star City, Taipei-" All of the images disappeared, and were replaced by static. Ah, Connor's favorite show seemed to have wanted the spotlight...

"Dude," Wally complained.

"It's not me," he furiously tried to bring the images up again, but found that all media signals had been totally taken over by an unknown outside source. "Someone's cutting the satellite signal. It's _all_ satellite signals!"

The static was suddenly replaced by the face of a grinning Joker. _"Ladies and gentlemen,"_ he said softly, eyes glinting in a way that would make a grown man shiver. _"We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement,"_ He brought out a dagger as he moved the camera, a cleverly hidden way to insure that his audience remained attentive. As the camera turned, another six villains were revealed, who stood calmly and confidently even though they were addressing the entire planet _"from the_ _ **Injustice**_ _League. Hahahaha..."_

 _"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities,"_ Count Vertigo declared. _"If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit, but the longer your governments wait-"_

Joker took the camera again. _"-the more we get to have our... jollies."_ He began to chuckle again, and the screen returned to its static state once more.

Batman immediately brought his hand up to his comm. "Roger that, Aquaman. The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback, but it _won't_ come to that."

Robin was barely listening; he was too focused on the members of the Injustice League. It couldn't have been a coincidence that seven super villains decided to work together just as they began piecing together what could have been an evil organization. Things just never worked out that way. Batman didn't ever believe in coincidences, and neither would he.

With a few typed commands on his holographic keyboard, the footage rewinded until everyone was able to see all of the villains minus the clown. "Count Vertigo, The Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan. Seven heavy hitters probably behind everything and everyone we've faced."

"There's your secret society," Wally mumbled.

"Not so secret anymore," Artemis pointed out. Her tone implied that she didn't believe this was what they were really up against, and Robin couldn't help but agree. If the Injustice League was behind all of the challenges they've faced so far, why reveal themselves at that exact point of time? There was something wrong with the picture, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Kaldur spoke, "Perhaps after India, they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer."

But... They never figured out _who_ was behind everything. It still made no sense to why they would reveal themselves if the League had no way of pinning anything on them yet. It didn't add up.

Wally grinned confidently. "Yeah, well that was their mistake! Right now, I say we kick some plant creature butt!"

"The Justice League will handle the plants," Batman argued. "I have a different job for the Team."

"Aww man..." Wally groaned, but was silenced when Artemis punched his shoulder, frowning at him in disapproval.

Batman acted as though he was never interrupted. "With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously, there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it."

Robin's mouth fell open in shock. Was he misreading his mentor's meaning, or was he just about to send them on their hardest mission yet? That couldn't be the case. The Dark Knight was still against his partner going anywhere near any Gotham villains, wasn't he?

Zatara stepped forward, looking uneasy. "You realize what you're really asking them to do?"

Wait... Was this really happening?

"They're ready," Batman said firmly, turning so that his gaze locked with Robin's. Oh God, he was serious. He actually trusted him- them, to take down the world's most feared super villains!

Wally seemed to be a bit slow on the uptake. "Ready? Ready for what?" This earned him another hit on the shoulder, courtesy of Artemis. "Ow! Would you cut that-"

"Hello Wally! If the big guns are fighting the plants, who do you think _we'll_ be fighting?"

"I dunno, I guess we'll-" The blonde pointed to the screen, and he finally looked over to the image of the Injustice League. It seemed to finally click in his head, as a startled look fell upon his face. _"Oh."_

"Well, Batman, I trust you are correct," Zatara said softly. He must have been a little hesitant about sending those who he saw as children fight such powerful criminals. Robin understood his hesitance; he had a daughter, didn't he? He was probably thinking about what would happen if she went out into the field.

Batman had never been fond of people questioning his decisions. "I trust _you_ can locate the enemy," was his gruff reply.

"Indeed. Wotan's informants suggest sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled." He looked at the youngest. "Robin, if you will provide a holo-map, I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity." The acrobat nodded and obeyed, bringing up a holographic globe in the center of the group. Zatara walked over to the globe and held his hands out, taking in a deep breath. " Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!" He chanted, and a red mark appeared on the map. "There. That is where you will find the Injustice League control system."

Robin saved the location on the Mountain databases. "Coordinates locked in; the Louisiana bayou."

"We are on our way," Aqualad said firmly. With that, the Team took off in the direction of the bishop, and they heard Batman holding Marvel back from joining them from behind.

Robin grinned as they climbed inside the ship. Not only were they being sent to go on one of the most dangerous missions in their lifetimes, but they would also be doing it without any League supervision.

He was definitely feeling the aster.

xXx

The Team sat in the bioship as they awaited the moment they could land. Robin examined all of his weapons to make sure that everything was sharp and ready for battle. Next to him, Kid Flash chewed on his choice of snack. The speedster eventually glanced over at the bag next to their leader, and swallowed his mouthful of food. "What's in the duffel?" He asked curiously.

Aqualad looked down as well. "Plan B," he said cryptically.

Before anyone could question his meaning, Miss Martian suddenly grabbed her head, groaning. Superboy gave her a concerned look. "You alright?"

"Dizzy," was her response.

"Martians get air sick?" Robin asked in disbelief.

Wally gave her a once over. "She does look a bit greener than usual."

"Not me, her."

Artemis blinked. "I feel fine."

"Not her, the bioship. She's trying to shield us, but-" the ship was suddenly tossed around in the air, and if weren't for the straps securing them to their chairs, they would have been sent flying threw the windows. The ship straightened herself out for a few seconds, but a harder hit sent her crashing into the muddy water below. Before anyone could react, two monstrous vines shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the ship, dragging them all deeper into the water.

Well, at least they knew they were at the right place.

A loud thud on the roof told them they had company, and powerful hands managed to pry a hole open above them. In response to this, Miss Martian moaned and grabbed at her head again. "He's hurting her." Angry, Superboy growled and jumped up, punching the attacker away before he could do any more damage. He had hit the villain with enough force to send him flying away, which meant that they had time to escape.

Or not, Robin thought as water came in through the newly created opening and started to fill the bioship. "No," Artemis said fiercely. "No way am I nearly drowning three missions in a row."

"M'gann, you need to open a hatch."

The Martian slapped her forehead. "Hello Megan! Of course." She dove underwater and waved her hand in front of a wall. Yet another hole was created, and the Team used it to escape. They swam around in the murky waters just until they were at a safe distance, and then they climbed onto shore. Miss Martian peered through the undergrowth, watching her struggling ship sadly. "She's in shock. She'll need time to recover."

All of a sudden, the worse feeling of vertigo slammed into Robin with full force, and he fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Next to him, his teammates echoed his cries, each struggling to fight off the weak feeling in their limbs. God, it was one of the worst feelings he had ever felt. He wasn't even sure how KF managed to push himself up. "Vertigo," the speedster spat, speaking to someone Robin couldn't see.

" _Count_ Vertigo to you, peasant."

The force finally let up, and Robin could feel the rest of his senses return to him. Superboy wasted no time in resting, choosing to instead aim a punch at Vertigo. He was intercepted halfway there by a man with a lightning symbol on his chest, who pushed the clone back onto the ground. Aqualad was the next to climb back on his feet, and the rest of the Team followed soon after. The Atlantian turned around and used his water bearers to absorb water from the lake, then he spun back around and shot jets of water at Vertigo. _'Robin, Miss Martian, disappear,"_ he ordered. Before either of them could argue, he continued, _'We will keep them busy. You two fulfill the Mission objective.'_

Robin thought back to his mentor. He would want them to do whatever it took to complete the Mission, even if it meant leaving any teammates behind. With a nod, the acrobat took a few steps backwards and let himself be absorbed by the shadows, and watched as Miss Martian switched into camouflage mode. Hundreds, even thousands of lives depended on them to complete their task. They could not let them down.

Robin and Miss Martian wasted no time, and sped through the darkened jungle. The boy had a map of the area held up in front of them so that they could track their progress. They weren't too far away now. _'I've lost contact with Aqualad and the others,'_ the martian informed him after a few minutes. _'Should we-'_

 _'Sorry, that's not the gig.'_ He put his computer away and pushed a branch back to reveal the structure of a tall building with tall stalks of plant growing out of the rooftop. _'This is: Injustice League central system. Looks like that plant is acting like an antenna to control all plants worldwide.'_

"Well hello." They turned around and was met with a snug looking Poison Ivy, who wrapped them in sturdy vines and yanked them off of the ground. Ultra-Humanite jumped down from the treetops and landed next to Ivy, aiming a laser gun at the two young heroes. "And goodbye." Before Humanite could fire, Miss Martian used her telekinesis to forcefully yank the weapon out of his hands and toss it out of harms way, while simultaneously freeing them both from Ivy's grip. As soon as Robin's feet hit the ground, he fled back towards the shadows, but was stopped by another plant attack. "Sorry Boy Wonder, I'm putting an end to your little reconnaissance mission."

Boy Wonder? That was new. More vines jumped out of the surrounding bodies of water and went straight towards him, but he managed to get out of the way just in time. They did not wait a single second to lunge at him again, and he grunted before jumping up to grab onto a tree branch and use it to swing himself out of harms way. When he landed, another vine swung at him and just barely missed his head. Well, he was off to a good start.

With a sharp inhale, Robin sprinted through the jungle, barely avoiding Poison Ivy's attacks. One of them eventually managed to hit him and he was thrown across the muddy ground. Alfred was not going to be happy about cleaning his uniform after tonight. Huffing, Robin pushed himself back up, only to watch the invisible Miss Martian get rid of the attacking plans. How did she make it look so easy? _'Robin, she's made contact.'_

 _'Artemis?'_

 _'No.'_ Came the blonde's voice. They looked up and spotted two villains flying over with a golden cage that apparently held their friends. As they flew closer to the Injustice League HQ, the bioship suddenly shot threw the air and slammed into Wotan and knocking him out of the sky. The cage then dissolved, and the Team fell, landing on the ground with a chorus of grunts. Well, at least they didn't have to worry about a future rescue mission.

Superboy immediately locked gazes with Humanite. "I hate monkeys," he growled, and he charged at him with Wolf at his side.

Artemis and Aqualad turned around to face Ivy, but quickly realized that they were both weaponless. "I feel naked," the archer muttered, "and not in a fun way.

Robin blinked. What? He shook his head; there was no time to question the thoughts of teenage girls. He had a job to do. Miss Martian glanced at him and seemed to read his determination, as she nodded and flew with him to the building. Once they arrived, her eyes glowed green and he was gently lifted onto the building. Once he landed, he immediately began to plant explosives at every possible angle of the mother-vine. _'Time to give the League a break,'_ he told his teammate through the mind link before pressing the activation button on his glove. His explosives let out a loud whine before simultaneously going off, successfully destroying the plant and also setting the building on fire.

"No!" Ivy shrieked, staring at the dead plant in devastation.

"Timber," Robin said, giving her an innocent look. The female snarled and lashed out, sending a new hoard of vines at him. What she wasn't expecting was for Miss Martian to step in and keep the plants at bay.

They did it, they won. It was over.

A sudden yellow laser beam shot out and struck Miss Martian, throwing her off the building.

Or not...

Robin caught sight of Atomic Skull and backed away, seeking safer grounds. As he moved, an annoyed voice spoke, "Children? Children foiled our plan?!" Joker shouted as Skull continued to fire at Robin. "Inconceivable. Unacceptable. Retributionable!" A pause. "That last one might not be a word." He grinned. "So sue me." Robin frowned as he realized that he had something in common with the Joker. That was _not_ whelming.

"Kill them," Vertigo ordered, enraged. "Kill them all."

Robin ignored him and jumped down from the roof, landing next to the injured Miss Martian. He helped her back up to her feet and gave her a worried look. That was a direct hit, could she continue fighting? The girl smiled and had enough time to send him a feeling of reassurance before they were forced to jump out of the way of another yellow beam.

"Enough," Wotan shouted. In reply, Robin threw an explosive disk at his face. When the smoke from his attack disappeared, it revealed that Wotan had used a force field to avoid taking damage. Annoyed, the magician shot beams of energy at the bird and Aqualad. Robin attempted to outrun it, but it was simply to fast, and he was soon laying on the ground while moaning in pain. Other cries joined his and Aqualad's as the other members of the Team were given the same treatment. Robin felt a brief rush of panic as he wondered for the first time: what if... what if they lost this battle?

He and his friends could die.

He heard Aqualad say something to Miss Martian before the beams of energy finally died out. "The Helmet of Fate," Wotan growled out from above. Robin opened his eyes and saw Aqualad holding a yellow helmet over his head. Wait, KF told him something about that...

"No Aqualad, don't!" The speedster shrieked, but was silenced when one of the villains punched him in the face. The Atlantian ignored his request and slipped the helmet over his head, making a bright light engulf his entire body. When the light died down, Aqualad was encased in yellow armor- Dr. Fate's uniform. "Oh, dude..." Kid whispered, horrified.

Dr. Fate rose into the air and stopped when he was only a few feet away from the other magician. "Wotan, you are mine," he declared in a mix of both his own voice and Kaldur's. It was... disturbing.

There was a shuffling noise behind him, and he turned around to see Joker, who was holding a blade up to his eye level. "Wonder Boy, you are mine. Hahaha!" He was clearly mocking Fate's theatrics, which even Robin had to admit were a little much.

Needless to say, the next few minutes he spent were filled with the clown swiping at him with his blade, and Robin dodging by jumping backwards. His legs were shaking slightly as he moved, either caused by the effects of Wotan's attack, exhaustion, or both. Either way, it was becoming clear that he would be overpowered soon, and Joker knew it. "I always wanted to carve this bird," he said before charging at him with a knife in each hand. Wait, where did he get the second one? He decided to ponder over that later, since getting distracted gave Joker the perfect opportunity to slice into the boy's torso. It was a small gash, but it _hurt._ And how did it even touch his skin? "Your dear Uncle Joker didn't forget his tools this time, kiddo!" The clown exclaimed, eyeing the torn Kevlar happily. That explained it...

Joker continued to advance, and each swipe grew dangerously closer to hitting its mark. Sweat matted Robin's hair to his forehead, and his dodges were starting to resemble something more like stumbling. The maniac's smile widened as he noticed this, and he aimed for one final strike-

Only to have his a blade be knocked out of his hand by a carefully aimed batarang.

Robin looked up and was relieved to see Superman, Captain Marvel, and Green Lantern floating above, as well as his mentor and a few others who were be held in the air by a green platform. Batman was giving Joker one of his coldest glares, and the moment he was on the ground, he sent the clown reeling backwards with a punch. The Dark Knight then turned to look at his protege. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

Though he had several injuries, and was completely exhausted, there was no way he was going to back out of the fight now. "I'm still feeling the aster," he replied, grinning.

Batman's lips twitched upwards slightly. "Then let's end this."

Both the Justice League and the Team worked together to drive the Injustice League back, and the heroes soon had them cornered. The League, both young and old, circled around the villains, creating a wall that they had no chance of going through. There was nothing more that the criminals could do that night. "It's over," Batman told them.

The Injustice Leaguers shared glances before reluctantly putting their hands up in surrender. "There will be another day," Vertigo said softly.

"Another day?" Joker exclaimed, gaining everyone's attention. "Another day?! There won't be another day, not for any of us!" He raised his glowing hands with a wicked laugh. The plants surrounding him responded to his movements by rising off of the ground and released brownish-green clouds of gas. Oh no...

"Joker Venom spores! Don't breathe!" Batman ordered as he ran towards the laughing clown. One powerful punch was all it took to take him down, but they still had the gas to worry about.

"Fear not!" Fate flew into the air and thrusted his arms outwards, creating a golden symbol in the air. The symbol somehow sucked up all of the laughing gas, clearing the air and preventing anyone from accidentally inhaling it. "Fate has intervened!"

...Did he always sound so dramatic?

xXx

"What were you thinking? How could you let him put on the helmet?" KF asked Miss M after the Injustice League was taken care of. "Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever..." The magician stared at him blankly and then reached up to remove his helmet. The armor disappeared, and Aqualad's normal form was left behind. Kid Flash blinked in shock. "Nabu let you go?"

"He almost did not, but your friend Kent was most helpful." A smile. "He says hello."

Kid Flash grinned in relief.

"We're done here," Batman announced as the League made their way over to them. "The super villain society had been neutralized. As for your performance..." There was a moment of silence. "It was satisfactory." Wow, Batman was starting to hand out compliments like candy on Halloween. Robin made a mental note to have Alfred check to make sure his guardian wasn't sick.

Grinning to himself, he turned to share a victorious look with the rest of the Team. They had just held their own against some of the world's most powerful villains. That... That was pretty big. Going by the League's reactions, the older heroes seemed to be impressed, and he might even say they were proud of them.

He glanced up at the sky briefly, eyes locked on the stars above. It wasn't something he thought of as much as he should, but he wondered if his parents were proud of him, wherever they were...

Batman put a hand on his shoulder from behind him to get his attention. They were leaving, apparently. As the Dynamic Duo left the rest of the group, the boy smiled to himself. Well, he decided, at least he knew that _one_ of his parents were proud.

xXx

 **AN: Whew, all done. I'm a hard core procrastinator when it comes to updating, but I don't think this one came in** ** _too_** **late.**

 **Anyways, there are four ways I could go about finishing this story, and I wanted some of my readers opinions for it.**

 **1\. A tragic ending with no room for a sequel.**

 **2\. A depressing ending with room for a sequel that will be based off of season 2.**

 **3\. A happyish ending with room for a sequel that will based off of season 2.**

 **4\. A happyish ending with room for a sequel that won't be based off of season 2.**

 **What do you guys think, with what you've read so far? I'd like to hear your thoughts. :)**


	14. Sick Days and Butter Knives

**AN: I'm adding another option to last chapter's poll. Altogether, we now have:**

 **1\. A tragic ending with no room for a sequel.**

 **2\. A depressing ending with room for a sequel that will be based on season two.**

 **3\. A happyish ending with room for a sequel that will based on season two.**

 **4\. A happyish ending with room for a sequel that won't be based on season two.**

 **5\. A depressing ending with room for a sequel that won't be based on season two.**

 **Sorry for the inconvenience, but all votes from last chapter have been wiped clean. If you already voted, I would love it if you did it again, just so I can see how my stats are with the new option included.**

 **Anyways, enjoy some Daddy Bats fluff...**

xXx (At the Manor) xXx

Bruce finished gelling his hair back, and gave himself a once over using his bathroom mirror. He had a crisp new suit on, and that along with his hairstyle seemed to scream 'rich man.' On the bright side, nothing about him could raise suspicion about him secretly being a vigilante, especially not if he used his 'Brucie' personality.

Everything was in order.

He glanced down at his watch and noticed that he still had time for breakfast. That meant that he could spend more time with Dick, which was something he always appreciated. That boy always managed to cheer him up without trying. With a small smile, the man exited the bathroom and headed downstairs to the dining room. Set out on the table were two plates filled with scrambled eggs and bacon. Hm, Alfred knew that he would be eating breakfast before he did. How did he always manage to do that?

"Ah, there you are Master Bruce," Alfred greeted as he walked in from the kitchen, carrying a mug. "Here is your coffee."

"Thank you Alfred." He looked at the seat across from his, which was unusually empty. Dick was always the first to get up, so where could he have possibly been? "You wouldn't happen to know where Dick is, would you?"

"I cannot say I do. However, I can go upstairs and see what is keeping him if you'd like."

"Please."

Alfred nodded and left the room, leaving Bruce alone to his thoughts.

Zatara told him that he would be bringing his daughter to the Mountain later that day, and Bruce had been hesitant about introducing his son to yet another stranger. The boy had been stressed out enough what with starting school, going on nightly patrols, and worrying about Deathstroke's ominous threat. Bruce did everything he could to make Dick feel safe, and even went out of his way to get him a therapist to see if it would have a positive effect. No matter what they tried, nothing seemed to be working. Dick of course had his moments where he seemed to be happy, but those were scarce compared to his unhappy ones.

And his behavior worsened as a result.

Bruce couldn't understand why Dick acted like he did. He was an extremely talented boy, but always doubted his abilities, and had to be reassured several times that he wasn't a complete failure. On top of that, he also had a problem with attention, especially when it came to his guardian. Bruce understood that his time in Cadmus made him desperate for attention, but it was starting to become unhealthy. The boy's mood would quickly go sour if his mentor did _anything_ that didn't involve him. He also had a growing worry that Bruce was going to get rid of him for some reason, something that Bruce didn't understand at all. Had he not done everything he could to make Dick feel welcome there? Apparently not, or it wouldn't be a problem.

Alfred reappeared in the dining room doorway, looking worried. "Master Bruce, it seems as though Master Dick is not feeling well."

Bruce stood immediately. "What do you mean, not feeling well?" His mind automatically jumped to the thought of another panic attack. Why in the world would Alfred leave him alone in his room if he was panicking?!

"He was still sound asleep when I found him, and he remained that way though I knocked on his door several times. I gently shook him to wake him and when he finally woke, he curled up and claimed that he had a nasty headache."

Well, that was better than a panic attack. Bruce relaxed slightly."Does he have a fever?" He asked, assessing the situation as best he could with the limited information he was provided with. He had no idea what he would do if Dick had anything besides a cold. Would he have to take him to the hospital? Were there shots that he needed? What if it was something deadly?

"His forehead seemed to be a little warm now that you mention, but I'm sure that it is only a cold. Shall I call Dr. Leslie Thompkins and ask for her to come over?"

Bruce slowly shook his head. "No. Let's just keep an eye on him for now, and we'll call Leslie if his condition worsens." Oh, Dick was in for the coddling of a lifetime.

Eyebrows rose in the air. "We, sir?"

He blinked. "Well I can't go to work if Dick is sick," he explained, confusion showing on his face. Why would he leave the house knowing that his son wasn't feeling well? He could need him for something!

Alfred smiled knowingly. "Right you are, Master Bruce. Do you wish for me to call the office and explain to them that you can't make it?"

"That would be great."

"What shall I say is your reason for not being there?"

Bruce shrugged absent mindedly. "My ex girlfriend had the flu and didn't tell me. That's something anyone will believe."

"Of course." He looked up at the ceiling. "Perhaps Master Dick would appreciate it if his breakfast was brought to him upstairs?"

This time, it was Bruce who rose his eyebrows, watching as the butler moved to grab a tray from the kitchen. When he returned, Bruce gave him an odd look. "Breakfast in bed Alfred? Are you sure it's Dick who's feeling unwell?"

"Maybe we're all a bit under the weather this morning. Master Dick has a headache, I'm allowing meals to be eaten outside of the dining room," his eyes twinkled, "and you're staying home from work and missing an important meeting. Something of which you haven't done in years."

Bruce's face heated up, and he cleared his throat before replying, "They won't miss me in the office." He took the tray from him and picked up the plates as well. "Besides, he's more important than some boring business meeting."

He left after that, though he heard Alfred murmur, "Spoken like a true father."

Needless to say, his face remained bright red.

xXx

Dick squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out all light without having to get up to shut the blinds. God, his head _hurt_. It felt like their was a bomb detonating somewhere inside of his skull, and any movement he made the explosion worsen. He wanted to stay in bed and curl up until he no longer felt miserable but at the same time, he desperately wanted to get out of bed and do something. His restlessness and misery fought against each other in his mind, only to make his headache hurt even more. Ugh, being sick was the worst.

A knock came at the door, and he groaned in response. He forced his eyes opened and watched as Bruce walked in, carrying a tray with two plates of food on it. "Hey chum." He greeted, moving to sit at the edge of his bed and placing the tray on the nightstand. The man reached over and placed a hand on his forehead, a frown appearing on his face as he withdrew. "Alfred wasn't kidding when he said you weren't feeling well."

"My head hurts," he muttered in response.

"I heard about that too. Did you take anything yet?"

He tried to nod but ended up wincing as the movement only added onto his pain. "Alfred gave me some aspirin before he left but it hasn't kicked in yet."

Bruce nodded. "Do you think you can sit up and eat something?"

Dick wrinkled his nose at the mentioning of food, but then saw the strain on Bruce's face and gave him another half nod. The man absolutely hated his lack of appetite, for some reason, and he promised himself today he would eat more. Bruce smiled at his response and helped him sit up, even changing the position of the pillows to insure that his charge was as comfortable as possible. Dick felt his face heat up in response to this; he wasn't used to that kind of treatment at all.

The moment he was sitting up straight, a tray was gently placed on his lap, and he caught sight of breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon... he couldn't find anything to complain about. There were two plate on his tray, and he realized that Bruce was going to eat with him. "Here," he muttered as he slowly scooted over to give him more room. "Now we can both be lazy."

Bruce chuckled and mimicked his position on the mattress, and Dick pushed the tray until they both had half of it resting on their laps. "Well, dig in. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that Alfred gave us."

Dick scooped up a forkful of eggs and shoved them in his mouth. "Oh, so this was his idea? Funny, I thought you snuck it up here or something."

"Even _I_ don't even take such big risks, chum. Alfred would burn me alive if we had breakfast in bed without his permission."

"My lord, is that really what you think of me?" Alfred commented from the doorway. Dick turned to look at him, wincing when he did. Damn headache... "I'm not as evil as Master Bruce seems to believe, I assure you."

Bruce scoffed. "When was the last time you let _me_ have breakfast in bed?"

"I don't recall you ever displaying any behavior that deserved such a treat, sir."

Dick snorted, while Bruce looked abashed. "Hmph." The man grabbed a piece of bacon from his plate and took a big bite out of it, glaring at Alfred all the while. This childish behavior made Dick burst into a fit of giggles, and Alfred's lips even came up just a little.

"If we're done discussing my dislike of having meals outside of the dining room, I thought I would bring you two some biscuits." In one hand was another plate, this one filled with biscuits, and in the other was a jar of strawberry jam. "They are fresh out of the oven, and as I recall they are some of Master Dick's favorite breakfast items."

The boy paused, blinking at him slowly. He actually remembered that? Honestly, Dick didn't think he'd care enough to remember something as simple as his favorite foods. He tilted his head slightly, minding the headache, and looked at Alfred, actually looked at him. In the small amount of time he has been there, he couldn't recall a single instance where the butler was anything but kind towards him. Huh. He never actually let himself appreciate how nice the man was to him; it was almost as though anything outside of his hero life was casted to the back of his mind. He felt slightly guilty about it, and mentally swore that he would try to get to know Alfred more. After all, he was almost like his grandfather. It would be strange if they _didn't_ interact with each other.

"Thank you Alfred," Bruce said gratefully, taking both items from him and setting them on the nightstand.

"Yeah, thanks Alfie," Dick said, giving him the biggest smile he could manage.

"Of course. I do hope you feel better soon, Master Dick. You wouldn't want to miss the failsafe mission you have been so excited about."

"Don't even worry about that. I'll drag myself all the way to the Zeta Tubes if I have to. There's no way I'm missing out on that!"

Alfred nodded, gave Bruce a strange look, then briskly turned around and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

Bruce took care of getting them both a biscuit, split them in half, and then used a butter knife to spread jelly on the inside. Dick watched him, totally hypnotized by the action. His blue eyes watched the knife move, and he suddenly had the urge to take it from him. He had no clue what he would do with it, but he had a burning desire to lean over and yank it out of his guardian's hands. He was able to stop himself from acting on that impulse by forcing himself to look away. It wasn't like the knife was sharp enough, anyways.

"Here." Bruce handed him both halves of a biscuit before putting the jam away. Dick took the two pieces and pushed them back together in a strawberry biscuit sandwich. Bruce gave him an odd glance as he watched him take a happy bite out of his food. "Most people I know eat the halves separately."

"Most people you know are rich and snobby. Being neither of the above, I think I can eat my biscuits as a sandwich."

Bruce paused right before he took a bite out of his own food. "I eat my biscuits in halves. Are you calling me a snob?"

Dick snickered. "Yes, because any man who dresses up like a bat at night, and is willing to have breakfast in bed with their annoying child is _obviously_ a snob."

A snort. "Obviously." He nudged him with his elbow. "But if I'm not a snob, that means you're not annoying."

"If you say so." Dick said with a small grin. "Hey, do you think Barbara can come over today? If I can't go to the Mountain, it'd be cool if I could at least talk to my civilian friend."

"I'll call Gordon." Bruce smirked to himself. "But I doubt she'll say no, in any case."

Dick questioned that look, but decided to ignore it. Adults were _weird_ sometimes. But then again, so was being hypnotized by someone putting jam on a biscuit.

They returned to their food in silence, content with simply being at each other's sides.

xXx

 **AN: Sorry, this is just a filler chapter I made in place of 'Humanity,' because... Chalant won't be the pairing of this story. If you don't like it, I'm sorry but this is my final decision. I'm sure everyone has an idea what pairing I chose, but it won't be official until the sequel comes out. I don't want a relationship ruining what I have in store for this story.**

 **But anyways, please take this time to prepare yourself for the next chapter.**


	15. The Dangers of Two Great Minds

_A huge spacecraft flew towards the Earth, its red and black colors making it look intimidating, as though they were colors of battle . Two Green Lanterns flew towards it at high speed, coming to a halt right in front of it. The Batplane hovered behind them, ready to attack if their 'visitors' proved to be hostile. "Attention, you have entered the boundaries of Earth space. Disengage all weapons and engines. This is your final warning." A sudden beam of light shot out of the ship and headed towards the Lanterns. The two heroes attempted to hold up their shields to block the attack, but it proved to be a useless act. Within seconds, their shields shattered, and they were bathed in bright light. When the beam died out, they were completely gone._

 _"Code red!" Batman shouted. "Full offensive deploy!" The cargo door to the Batplane opened and Superman, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, and Captain Atom flew out and moved towards the enemy. Two new beams were immediately fired in return, and while Batman was able to get out of the way in time, the other Leaguers were destroyed._

 _Batman didn't stay lucky for long. One of the beams changed directions, and managed to catch the Batplane in its light. The Dark Knight ejected the control area from the main body in hopes of escape, but a quick fire from the aliens took him out too._

Inside the Mountain, Robin grimaced. Sure, this was only a training scenario, but the thought of losing Batman still stung a little. Apparently, M'gann felt the same, because he felt her project her grief for her uncle for a split second before she quickly pushed it away. Good, it wouldn't do them any good if they started to forget that it wasn't real.

God, if Batman really died, he had no idea what he would do.

Red Tornado ended the live feed from space to speak with Zatara. "Tornado..." the magician sounded mournful. "Did you-"

"Yes, Zatara, we saw. Celestial defenses have failed, initiate all terrestrial measures."

"Affirmative. See you in the field." The call then ended, and the screen disappeared.

Red Tornado turned to look at the gathered teens. "I must join the League. We will protect the planet at all costs, but should we fail, the responsibility falls to you."

Aqualad turned his head and took in his teammates's stern expressions before nodding. "We stand ready."

xXx

 _"This is Iris West-Allen reporting live." A redhead news reporter announced. "The extraterrestrials have brought their relentless global attack to Central City." Behind her, several citizens were lost in beams of light. One came close to hitting her, but a red blur grabbed her and brought her to safety. As the alien cannon readied to fire again, the sound of gibberish was heard and the scene suddenly moved to the rooftops, where Iris could be seen with the Flash and Zatara._

 _"You should both be safe here, at least for now." The magician told them._

 _"Thank you..." she gave the speedster an odd look, as though she wanted to say something else but decided to keep herself from doing so. "...Flash. And Zatara." Flash gently touched her arm for reassurance before racing back to the fight with Zatara following closely behind. "Denny, you okay?" A thumbs up appeared on screen, and she smiled in relief before addressing her audience once again. "As you can see, the Justice League is attempting to hold the line." The camera moved to look at a distant building where the two Leaguers were attempting to rescue screaming citizens. A sudden beam shot through the air and struck them, adding them to the list of fallen heroes. Iris gasped, "No..."_

 _"Iris! Iris, get out of there!" A blonde woman in the news station screamed as an alien ship aimed at the reporter. Seconds later, the footage went to pure static. "...I'm sorry, we're experiencing technical difficulties. We take you now to a devastated Taipei," The tv showed the image of a once beautiful city being attacked at all directions, smoke rising from several buildings, "where another League contingent is having a bit more luck."_

 _Four Leaguers were stationed there, each of them launching their attacks without any form of restraint, aiming to kill and not to cripple. Soon after they appeared on screen, they met the same fate as their fallen comrades. The blonde news lady's eyes softened. "Ladies and gentlemen, we've lost Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Hawks. Other heroes reported dead or missing include Batman, Ikkon, Atom, and Aquaman."_

The Team shifted their attention to view Woman and Red Tornado's battle. Soon after they began to watch, Wonder Woman fell, leaving Red on his own. _"Red Tornado to Cave. I fear that I am all that remains of the League."_

Robin watched as a canon was aimed towards him. "RT!" He shouted, but the android was still caught in the beam. The acrobatic winced, but quickly reminded himself that it wasn't real, that Red was perfectly fine, and so was Batman and everyone else.

"We are Earth's heroes now," Aqualad declared, standing tall.

Superboy turned to look at him. "So what are we waiting for, a theme song?"

"A strategy. Earth weapons are ineffective, and it has been made tragically clear a direct attack will not succeed."

They would have to think outside the box for this one. "Checking satellite imagery." A 3D image of the Earth appeared before them, clusters of red dots displaying the known locations of their opponents. "Here's where the aliens are now."

Connor frowned and pointed to a lone dot. "This one get lost?"

Robin squinted at the area; he knew that specific spot was somehow significant. He then remembered when Batman told him about Superman's version of a Bat Cave, and his eyes widened. "It's Superman's Fortress of Solitude!"

Superboy blinked. "Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?"

Oh, that's right... Connor probably didn't know about that. That must have hit a nerve. "It's power source must be attracting the aliens's attention, at least enough to send a scout ship to investigate."

The clone boy scowled and turned away. "Must be some fortress..."

"Connor..." M'gann rested a gentle hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away.

"No, it's okay. I guess there's a lot about Superman I'll never know," he said softly, a hint of his usual anger laced in his words.

Aqualad stared at the red dot on the globe. "We must target this lone ship."

"Yeah!" KF curled his hands into fists. "Break it down, build more! Let's hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo!"

Artemis scowled and smacked his arm, making him yelp. "Hello, Martian and Kryptonian in the house!"

Connor and M'gann did not look amused, and Wally smiled at them sheepishly. "Uh, not that all aliens are automatically ugly..." he said lamely, and Robin snorted.

"At least your feet are faster than your brain," he teased with a smirk.

"Dude!"

xXx

As the Team flew to where the lone ship was located, Aqualad went over their strategy, and Robin and Artemis were requested to make sure all of their weapons were working properly.

"Hey Rob, can't you just use that chip thing of yours to break down the alien technology?" KF asked.

Robin stopped sharpening his birdarang, pausing as everyone turned to look at him. "Well, um, I've never tried doing that to extraterrestrial technology before, and it might be too big for me to totally break down. Sorry guys, but with the limited time we have, I wouldn't put all of your hopes on me."

Aqualad nodded. "It was a good idea, but if you do not believe that you are capable of doing so, we will not push you."

His fingers tightened their hold on the birdarang, and he nodded stiffly. He didn't exactly lie- he was certain that he wouldn't be able to take down an alien ship on his own, but he also left out the part that he couldn't even hack a laptop if he wanted to. A malfunctioning chip meant that he wouldn't be doing anything technology related without the use of his holo glove, unfortunately...

Someone poked his shoulder suddenly, and he turned his head to see Kid staring at him worriedly. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?" He relaxed his grip on his weapons immediately, hoping that the chip thing didn't come up. He did _not_ want the Team to know that the only thing that made him useful wasn't working properly.

"Well, uh, it's just..." Wally lowered his voice. "You kinda have a history with... you know, parents dying. And seeing Bats like that, well..."

Robin glanced away. "This is different."

"I know that, but I thought that seeing that must have brought up old memories."

[ _Snap!_ ]

[ _CRUNCH_!]

"...I barely remember that part of my life." He ran a gloved finger over his birdarang thoughtfully. "And sure, I've always had some sort of fear of Bats either dying on me or kicking me out, but I'm okay right now."

Wally nodded. "Okay, good. Just tell me if things get too much, alright?"

"Yeah, sure..." Robin finally turned to look at him. "Are _you_ okay? You saw your aunt and uncle die on tv."

The speedster looked solemn. "Yeah, it's cool." He looked down. "It's just weird to think about what would happen if... you know."

Robin sighed. "Trust me, I know."

xXx

Robin watched from a distance as Artemis ducked behind a cluster of tall rocks, wearing a white coat to both protect her from the cold and provide her with camouflage. While she prepared herself to strike, the invisible Miss Martian flew towards the lone ship and used her telekinesis to pull its radio device off. _"Communications disabled."_ She told them through the mind link as the ship fell to the ground. _"Propulsion disabled."_

Artemis rose from her hiding spot and shot a foam arrow at the ship's door. The aliens responded by shooting in the direction that the projectile came from, but the archer ducked to avoid the attack. _"And ETs are sealed inside."_

Aqualad suddenly shot out of the ice and flew into the air to land on top of the ship. The alien cannon swerved to shoot at the extra weight, but was stopped by a growling Wolf and Superboy. Kid Flash then arrived at the scene as well, and Robin jumped off of his back to join their other teammates. A quick touch of a button brought his holo glove back up, showing him the ship's weak points. _"Identifying weapon's structural stress points and links to the ship. Here, here, and here,"_ he pointed to the correct areas, and Miss Martian nodded before attacking the indicated spots to weaken them. Superboy then pulled at the weapon, deaf to the whining sound it produced. Robin frowned and looked back at his glove, but it showed no signs of there being a problem. Huh...

All of a sudden, Wolf surged forward and rammed into his Master to get him out of the way, and was lost in a beam of light. Superboy stared after him in shock, eyes wide with surprise and sadness.

 _"Wolf..."_ M'gann said with sorrow.

Robin promptly ignored the grief he felt for the fallen animal. Not real, he reminded himself sternly. Wolf was completely fine. _"There was no indication of feedback."_ He looked at Superboy. _"I'm sorry."_

Superboy brought his gaze away from the icy ground. _"Can't do anything for him now.."_ he returned to his place on the ship, and yanked the weapon off with a grunt. _"Let's go."_ He and Miss Martian jumped over to what looked like empty air, but was actually the invisible bioship.

Miss Martian knelt and put her hands on her ship, beginning the process of giving her a new weapon. _"Rerouting systems to integrate weapon into ship's biomatrix. We'll need to decamouflage for a few minutes."_

Just then, Robin caught sight of two new aliens ships coming towards them in the air. _"Might not have a few minutes."_

 _"Miss Martian, open fire!"_ Aqualad shouted.

 _"Can't. Weapon systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon. And that's not fully integrated yet, either!"_

 _"Gotcha covered, get inside!"_ Artemis shouted, shooting three arrows at the approaching enemy. _"I'm almost there!"_ The arrows hit their targets, and the ships crashed into the icy terrain as the blonde rushed to safety. Time seemed to slow down as one of the ships' cannons slowly turned to aim at the retreating figure.

 _"Artemis, behind you!"_ M'gann warned. Artemis turned around and readied another arrow, only to disappear in a beam of light. "ARTEMIS!"

"Artemis!" Kid Flash shrieked in an echo, eyes wide in disbelief.

And just like that, everything shattered, and Robin's mouth fell open as waves of grief hit him like a tidal wave, ripping away the cocoon of denial he wrapped himself in to hide from reality. Oh God, Artemis was... _dead._ Realization finally settled in: the entire _League_ was dead. _Batman_ was dead. The strength of both his and M'gann's projected sadness made his knees weaken, and bile rose in his throat. Everyone was gone. The Team was alone in their fight against evil. _Bruce was gone and Dick had no one._

 **"Report to Deathstroke,"** his chip suddenly told him, and he nearly laughed. Oh, _now_ the damn thing was working. And out of all the advice it could give him...

Aqualad suddenly brought out his water whips. "Inside, all of you," he ordered before jumping down and launching a deadly attack on the ships. Robin felt his stomach rebel against him; Kaldur was fighting to kill.

KF growled as the Atlantian joined them again. "They're dead! Every single alien, if it's the last thing I do!" Robin's breath hitched. Not Wally too...

He then stilled. What if he had to kill too?

xXx

The ride in the bioship was filled with almost complete grief, the new empty seat's presence weighing heavily on their minds. Kaldur and Connor stared out of the ship's visor with lost eyes, Robin remained as stoic as possible, M'gann bowed her head while quietly sobbing to herself, and Wally pounded his fists against the control panel with vengeful anger.

After letting the Team grieve for long enough, Kaldur stood. "There will be a time to mourn later. Now we have a mission to do: defend the Earth, and ensure Artemis's sacrifice was not made in vain."

Robin's jaw set, and he forcefully pushed his panic and the rest of his emotions to the side. Kaldur was right, they couldn't afford to lose themselves when the fate of the Earth still rested on their shoulders.

God... the fate of the Earth rested on _their_ shoulders... That was not whelming. Not at all.

"Back to the Cave?" M'gann asked softly.

"The Hall of Justice. The human race must know there are still heroes defending him. There is still hope."

...For a symbol of hope, Robin sure felt hopeless...

When the Team arrived at their destination, it was to witness a branch of military attempt to fend off another attack. At Aqualad's command, Miss Martian opened the bottom hatch of the bioship, and Superboy jumped down onto an alien ship below, immediately taking out its cannon. Miss M then used her newly installed weapon to attack the other two ships, destroying them with their own fire.

...M'gann was killing too?

This was war, Robin suddenly realized, gripping his seat tightly. This wasn't just training in the Bat Cave, or a simple patrol in Gotham City. The Team weren't just superheroes anymore, they were soldiers in the battle field. Robin glanced at his comrades and felt his gaze soften. The probability of all of them surviving until the end were slim. Artemis was not their first loss, and she would not be their last.

The question was: who was next?

As the bioship landed, and the door opened to reveal the young heroes, several soldiers roared in triumph as they took in their uniforms. "See, it is Superman," someone said happily. "I told you he wouldn't leave us here alone!"

The other man looked unsure. "I dunno... He looks kinda young. Where's the cape?"

"I'm not Superman," Superboy said gruffly.

The general came forward with a smile of gratitude. "I don't know who you are, son, and right now, I don't care. You wear the 'S,' and you got the job done."

"...I'm not Superman."

"Tell that to the enemy." He turned to Aqualad and saluted. "General Wade Eiling, U.S. Air Force."

"Aqualad, Justice League. We'll help you savage as many of the aliens' cannons as possible," a look of determination crossed his face. "Then, we start taking back what is ours."

xXx

Inside the Hall of Justice, the League's statues lay crumbled on the ground. Robin caught sight of the one of Batman, and felt his grief consume him once again. "They're really gone," he said, more to himself than the others. Part of him still didn't want to believe his mentor- his father, even- was gone. It wasn't fair! Bruce and him only _just_ met a few months prior, and now Bruce was gone. Robin wanted to scream and burst into tears, demand to a higher power that his dad was returned to him, but he held back. His priority _had_ to be the Mission.

Shouldn't it? That's what both of his past mentors taught him- to disregard all emotions until you were out of the field...

He was suddenly unsure.

Robin watched as Miss Martian flew to the fallen statue of her uncle, collapsing on her knees and letting out a quiet sob. The acrobat was tempted to join her, but refrained. Mission. Remember the mission. That was the important thing.

All of a sudden, the martian girl stiffened and flew away, using her telekinesis to lift the statue off of the ground.

... And _there_ was Martian Manhunter, holding his head and looking frazzled.

"Uncle J'onn!" M'gann exclaimed, throwing the stone to the side and rushing to the male with her ams outstretched.

Aqualad came between them, looking at the Leaguer with distrust. _"M'gann, check his mind. Make sure he is whom he appears to be."_

 _"It's him, he's real. And he's alive!"_

Superboy frowned suspiciously at the martian man. "But we saw you get disintegrated. You and Superman... and everyone!"

"Yes, I remember." With M'gann's assistance, J'onn stood, rubbing his head. "But I cannot remember how I survived, or how I arrived here."

M'gann smiled. "Maybe you were density shifting, and the beam passed right through you!"

Robin nodded shortly. "Which could have scrambled your brains along the way." He felt a stab of resentment, but ignored it. He was happy that J'onn made it, he really was...

But Batman had to powers that could have been used to save him.

"My mind _is_ clouded. I feel certain I had something important to tell you."

KF suddenly smacked his head. _"Hello Wally! Come on!"_

The Team shared an odd look but followed Wally outside, where the speedster made Robin scan the weapon system. Ah, that's what he was so excited about. Knowing where his friend's thoughts were heading, Robin winced. _"I knew it, look! It's giving off zanopenes, the same stuff that powers our Zeta Tubes! This thing doesn't disintegrate, it_ _ **teleports**_ _. Artemis is alive!"_

Robin frowned. Zeta Beam technology didn't automatically mean that it was being used for teleportation. The most innocent things could easily be turned into weapons, he knew. Just look at the Joker; the man used child-like gag items and turned them into deadly weapons. Robin knew that Kid Flash was aware of this as well, but grief must have made him blind to logic. _"Maybe, but-"_

 _"No 'maybe,' they're all alive!"_

While the idea of Batman being alive was definitely something he wanted to believe, he wouldn't let himself have any false hopes. Everyone was dead, and he knew it.

 _"That must've been what you wanted to tell us!"_ M'gann said to her uncle. Robin refrained from sighing out loud. Was  everyone in denial?

Before Manhunter could reply, another squad of alien ships appeared in the skies, firing their lasers at the building. The Team immediately ducked behind the nearest vehicle for cover while Aqualad spoke, _"We are our way,"_ he announced.

 _"Negative,"_ Robin argued, eyeing the number of enemies swarming the area. _"We can't win this. Miss Martian, camo the bioship."_

A sudden beam then struck said ship, and both of the martians fell to the ground with groans of pain. _"M'gann!"_ Superboy rushed to her side and pulled her into her arms.

The martian girl was in total shock. "That didn't feel like..."

Robin growled. Just as he expected, there wasn't any teleportation involved. If M'gann felt the bioship die on her, then he did not need any more proof. _"We're falling back."_

The Team and what was left of the Airforce ran inside, and the general sighed as he took note of the walls surrounding them. "We're trapped."

"Maybe not," Aqualad said thoughtfully, and led them into the library. "We can all Zeta to the Cave if you can grant us access to the Tubes," this was directed to J'onn.

"I can only authorize one at a time."

Kaldur nodded. "Send the soldiers first."

"Belay that! You six are assets we cannot afford to lose," the general argued forcefully.

After a second of indecisiveness, Aqualad nodded again.

Martian Manhunter moved closer to the Tube, and stood still as it scanned him. "Override: Martian Manhunter, 07."

 **"Recognized. Access granted."** The Tube scanned Miss M next. **"Miss Martian, B05."**

Kaldur gently urged Robin to go next, and the acrobat hesitantly came forward, though his instincts were screaming that he should stay in case something happened. **"Robin, B01."** He slowly walked into the Tube, hearing the system announce Kid Flash's name next. After a second of bright light, he was in the familiar setting of the Cave.

He didn't have time to do anything but blink as Kid Flash literally flew into him, sending them both onto the floor. In an instant, Wally was off of him and helping him back up to his feet. "We have to go back!" The speedster shouted.

"...Why?" He asked, still held up on the fact that Wally _flew_ into him.

"Kaldur and everyone else are being attacked!"

M'gann gasped from a few feet away. "No, Connor!" She rushed back to the Tube, but Robin stopped her.

"Didn't you hear the General back there? We are assets that the world can't afford to lose. I'm sorry, but we're not going anywhere. If Connor and Kaldur make it, then great, but we can't risk our lives to save theirs."

"Dude..." Kid narrowed his eyes. "We can't just sacrifice our friends like that!"

"Then don't think of them as friends. Here and now, they're just our teammates, and we can't let our emotions stop us from saving the world. The Mission _has_ to be our priority."

Wally's mouth fell open. "How could you even say that?!" He paused, then a defiant expression formed on his face. "Wait, never mind. Nearly forgot I was talking to the assassin kid."

Robin's anger flared, and the lights in the room flickered as his chip responded. "It's _Batman's_ kid, actually," he snapped, pushing him back. "And apparently, I'm the only person in this room who knows what he's doing!"

Kid Flash snarled and was probably going to hit him when the Tube announced another arrival. **"Private Jason Bard. USMC."** A soldier stepped out of the light, an awed expression forming as he took in his surroundings. **"Superboy, B04."** the clone came in soon after. He suddenly halted in his tracks, and spun around just in time to catch Martian Manhunter, who fell in backwards.

"Uncle J'onn! Connor!" M'gann flew towards them and caught them both in a tight hug, relief evident on her face.

Robin froze. Manhunter was supposed to come in after everyone else, but they were still missing a major teammate. "Where's Aqualad?"

The rest of the Team mimicked Robin's expression, already expecting what his answer would be. Manhunter sighed and shook his head sadly. _No_. Not... not Kaldur. That meant- "The leadership of this Team now falls to you, Robin."

The acrobat swallowed thickly. Okay, now he was _the_ responsible one. He had to make all of the decisions. Most of the Earth's weight had moved from Kaldur's shoulders to his, and he could not let himself be overwhelmed. "...Then as my first act as leader, I will plan our next objective." He lifted his head high to display the confidence he definitely did not have, and led everyone to the mission debriefing room. "Our next mission is clear," Robin told what was left of his Teammates. "If we believe the aliens have been teleporting their victims-"

"We do," Kid put in.

Robin ignored the interruption and pulled up a map on his holo glove. "-then the only reasonable detention facility is here:" A screen appeared in front of them, displaying the image of the same ship that killed the first group of Leaguers. "The mother ship, atop of what used to be Smallville." He put his glove away and turned to J'onn. "Ring any bells?"

The Martian stood. "No, I'm sorry."

He was now very certain that everyone was very dead, but no one else seemed to be able to grasp that concept yet. He wouldn't push them; they would have to come to terms with it themselves. "Superboy, you'll create a distraction."

"No!" M'gann gave Robin a glare before looking at her boyfriend. "He's offering you as a sacrifice!" Robin winced at that word, the title of 'assassin boy' still fresh in his mind. "Aqualad would never do that!"

"You're right," he said quietly. "Aqualad would sacrifice himself, a mistake that just cost us our leader." And if Robin did the same, then who would lead next? The impulsive Kid Flash? The easily angered Superboy? The overly emotional Miss Martian? No, Robin had to lead them for as long as he could. "Superboy is the most likely to be perceived as a threat, motivating the aliens to deploy."

Wally gave them a reassuring look. "Worst case, he's teleported inside and we set him free along with Artemis. And, uh, Aqualad... and everyone."

Robin turned away. If only that was the case...

xXx

After sending a worldwide message to the surviving humans, and stocking up on whatever supplies they needed, the Team used the Mountain's Batwing to fly to Smallville, with Robin piloting since he was the only one who knew how to operate it. Being in the familiar plane only reminded Robin of his loss, and he just barely managed to keep himself together. After they destroyed the mother ship, then he would allow himself to cave and let out his built up depression. For now, he would have to continue fighting.

"Dick..." Kid whispered from next to him. Robin stiffened at the use of his civilian name, but relaxed when he remembered that M'gann and Connor were in the back. Superboy could probably hear them, but the chances of him actually caring enough to look for his identity were slim.

Besides, with what was going on right now, how important could identities be anymore?

"What?" He asked, remembering their argument at the Mountain not too long ago.

"...I'm sorry for what I said. I was angry at everything, and I took it out on you. You're _not_ an assassin, you're a hero who listened to logic instead of your feelings, and I should have listened."

Robin stayed silent for a minute before sighing. "No, you were right. A part of me will always be that assassin kid trained by Deathstroke." Before Wally could protest, he continued. "No, I don't kill, and I don't do anything that could define me as evil, but I still have the mindset that was forced on me. But you know what? I'm okay with it." He closed his eyes momentarily. "Sometimes, remembering how I was punished for expressing emotion in battle is the only reason why I won't break down crying. I'm _glad_ I still have that mindset, or I wouldn't be able to make the hard decisions."

"Dude..."

"Don't. Don't feel bad for me, because I don't need to hear it." He opened his gave him a fierce look. "Don't pity me when my past is the only thing holding me together."

Wally frowned. "...Was there _anything_ nice about your life in Cadmus? I know you don't like to talk about it, but if something happens out there... I want to be able to say I actually _knew_ you."

Robin gave him a small grin. "Honestly KF, you probably know me more than Bruce did." His smile wavered for a fraction of a second, but he fought to keep it up. "And no, there probably wasn't anything 'nice' about living there. The food sucked, it was always dark..." he wrinkled his nose. "And then there was that _goddamn_ costume... Always hated that thing..."

Kid snorted. "Yeah, your new one is definitely an improvement." His eyes caught sight of the distant object on the horizon, and he sighed. "Well, it's time..." he looked at him oddly. "Hey, quick question. If you survive this, do you have a girlfriend waiting for you back in Gotham? 'Cause there's this girl named Zatanna... I think you'd like her."

The acrobat shook his head. "I already have someone I'm interested in... but thanks."

"If _I_ survive, you're telling me about her. Deal?"

Robin chuckled. "Deal."

The plane landed far enough away from the ship to avoid being detected, and the Team quickly exited. They would be lucky if any of them survived through the night, and Robin had already accepted that he wouldn't make it. Being the only teammate without powers meant that it was more likely for him to fall in battle than the others.

...And he was surprisingly okay with that.

"Stay close to J'onn," Robin whispered to M'gann when they were near the mother ship. "He's still..." He gave her a pointed look, and she nodded in understanding. "First team, deploy!" The two martians took off into the air, taking each other's hand before disappearing.

 _"Ready, in position,"_ she told them after a few minutes.

Superboy looked at Robin, and at his nod the clone jumped onto the ship's rooftop, grabbing one of their cannons. Robin frowned. _"Careful, don't disconnect the power source,"_ he warned.

Superboy obeyed, and did not pull it any further. "All right, you glorified trespassers! You want to see how a real alien fights?!" Two beams shot out of the weapon, and destroyed nearby cannons. Several cargo doors of the mother ship then opened, and dozens of smaller ships flew out in retaliation. _"Now or never."_

Robin climbed onto Kid Flash's back, and the speedster gripped his legs before moving towards the ship at full speed. The redhead didn't slow down as he launched himself and his passenger over a large cliff, and into a newly opened entrance. Their landing wasn't very smooth, but they were both able to roll to avoid damage, and uncurl into an immediate sprint.

They ducked behind a wall just as a couple of scouter ships flew by. _"Way's clear, go!_ " They were able to run another fifteen feet before they had to hide behind a thick beam to avoid being seen again.

All of a sudden, a scouter on their other side that they didn't notice fell to the ground, destroyed by one of the martians before it could alert the others. Robin swallowed; if they had been caught so soon, the entire mission would have failed.

Swearing to himself that he would be more careful, he continued.

The four of them snuck through the interior of the ship without interruption for a while, but then Miss Martian suddenly groaned and became visible again. _"No... He's gone."_ She fell to her knees, eyes squeezed shut.

Connor...

 _"It's alright."_ KF put a hand on her shoulder. _"We'll find him with Artemis, I know it."_

 _"No."_ Manhunter lowered his head. _"My mind is clearer now. The disintegration beam is exactly that. There is no detention facility, no prisoners to rescue. Our mission holds no purpose."_

Kid scowled and grabbed him by the front of his cape. _"No, you're wrong! The Zeta radiation proves she's alive! She's-"_

Robin grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back, giving him the sternest look he could muster. _"Stop it KF! I've been scanning for Team and League signals since we got inside. They're_ _ **not**_ _here. Artemis is gone."_ He watched as Wally's expression morphed from furious to anguished. He must really love her, he realized with a blink. And now he must regret not being able to tell her. _"...But our mission still holds purpose, to destroy this mother ship."_ He gave him a meaningful stare before turning around and continuing what he set out to do. Bruce, Artemis, Kaldur, Connor... they can't have died for nothing. He _will_ make sure of that.

After a few more minutes of avoiding scouters, the remaining Team members arrived in a large room with a large glowing sphere being held in the middle. Robin quickly checked his computer, which confirmed his suspicions. _"This is the power core. Blow this and the whole mother ship blows."_ Nodding, the others raced with him towards the orb, jumping onto a platform high above it as the got closer.

A sudden pull of gravity pulled Robin sideways without his permission, making his eyes widen. The core was magnetic?! The way his feet were pulled out from under him when he tried to resist just about confirmed it, and his hands fruitlessly tried to get a grip on something. Kid Flash raced towards him and attempted to grab his hand to pull him back to safety, but he too ended up being pulled off of the platform.

Then, they were falling.

[ _"The Flying Graysons!"_ ]

[ _Snap!_ ]

[ _CRUNCH_!]

Robin narrowed his eyes and used his free hand to pull out his grapple gun. Sorry universe, but there would be no falling Graysons today. He fired grapple, which hooked onto a platform above them and halted their descend. Miss Martian and her uncle landed close to where it stuck, and M'gann used her powers to gently lower Robin and Kid Flash onto the core.

Robin immediately unbuckled the belts wrapped around his torso and set the explosives on the orb. As he did this, KF gave him a look of realization. _"You knew. You knew from the beginning why we were really here."_

Robin ignored him, activating the timer. _"Four minutes and counting. Let's go."_

 _"...We'll talk later, then."_

When they returned to where they came in from, the doors slid shut to deny them exit. "Perfect," KF said sarcastically. He then stiffened as a sound was heard, and they all turned around to be greeted by robots. Robin rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being disintegrated, and ducked for cover besides Kid Flash.

Robin glanced at his timer. _"Sixty seconds and counting. Manhunter, take Miss Martian and go."_

 _"No!"_ M'gann immediately protested _. "I won't leave you!"_

 _"That's an order. We'll follow as soon as we blow those doors."_ They had no possible way of escaping at this point, but she didn't need to know that. M'gann bit her lip but nodded, leaving with her uncle as Robin forced himself to come to terms with his own demise. Sure, KF might be able to learn how to vibrate his molecules in the next twenty five seconds, but Robin had no powers.

So like his equally powerless mentor, he was going to die.

Heart beating loudly, Robin brought out his holo computer, which showed him and Wally that they only had ten precious seconds before...

He deactivated the computer, and met his friend's eyes. Wally nodded to him slowly _'It's been an honor'_ being silently communicated between them. Robin pulled out his explosive disks and nodded in return, before turning the corner and flinging one at the nearest opponent, a lifeless cackle echoing throughout the ship.

Sure, last week he wouldn't have ever guessed that he would die today, but fighting off robots with his best friend wasn't the worst way to go.

 **"Danger alert, priority alpha."** His chip warned, and then everything exploded in painful flame.

Everything ended...

...except it didn't.

The darkness that Robin had assumed was death was suddenly replaced by the familiar Cave ceiling as his eyes flew open. "Wha-" he sat up quickly, and saw his teammates doing the same around him. His mouth went dry, and his heartbeat picked up as he saw Batman standing not too far away. _Bruce._

"You're all alive!" He heard M'gann exclaim, and his breath caught in his throat. He... he didn't die?

"What happened in there?" Batman asked J'onn. Robin stared at his mentor, the silent _'HOW?'_ ringing in his ears.

"The exercise... It all went wrong."

"...Exercise?" Robin repeated, digging his fingertips into the metal underneath him to keep himself grounded. Deep breaths. Inhale, exhale.

Batman turned to look at him. "Try to remember. What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the six of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train for failure exercise."

Robin's eyes widened. He... he _remembered_ that. None of the Team's mentors were supposed to tell their proteges that the exercise was a failsafe, but Bruce told him anyways to decrease the chance of him having a panic attack when things took a downturn.

"No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware _nothing_ was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League." That explained why Robin didn't mourn for Batman for the longest of times...

"That is why you hardly grieved, even Wolf was disintegrated before your very eyes," J'onn explained. "But all that changed when Artemis died." Robin glanced at the archer, whose eyes remained glued to the floor. "Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise and her subconscious took control, making all of you forget, too."

M'gann looked around the room with regretful eyes. "I-I'm so sorry."

"This isn't her fault!" Connor shouted in her defense. "Why didn't you just stop the exercise?!"

J'onn sighed. "We tried, but M'gann had a death grip on the scenario. Even Artemis, who should have awakened upon her death, was so convinced she had passed she slipped into a coma. I realized I would have to rest control from Miss Martian's subconscious control from within, but upon entering the reality, I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much... noise to think clearly, to remember why I was there.

"The deaths of Aqualad and Superboy helped, but only when the mother ship exploded, and Robin and Kid Flash were silenced-" a steady hand fell on Robin's shoulder, and he looked up to see a flicker of emotion cross his mentor's masked face "-did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose: to shock M'gann out of the exercise before your comas became permanent." J'onn lowered his head sadly, and Robin closed his eyes as he leant against the comforting presence of his mentor. "My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous... so _damaging_." Robin shivered and gripped the sleeves of his jacket.

He wasn't dead. Batman wasn't dead either. Everyone was... _alive._

And while he should have been jumping for joy, all he could feel was the built up emotions that he refused to let out earlier.

xXx

"I'm going to change out, and then we're going to talk," Bruce told Dick as he sat him down on the chair in front of the Bat Computer. The boy didn't respond, but he was sure that he heard, and slowly left to the changing area.

He had to admit that he had started panicking the minute Miss Martian took control of the exercise, and when Manhunter told him that the Team became unaware that everything _wasn't_ real. Oh, the panic attacks that Dick was sure to experience, and the endless nightmares he would likely have after they were pulled out of that mess. He had spent the duration of the time it took Manhunter to get them out monitoring the Team's health and pacing the room, not liking that he had no control over the situation whatsoever.

And then he nearly lost it when Robin slipped into a coma, even if it only lasted a minute or so. Dick hanging in between life and death like that did not sit well with the detective, and he would have drove himself insane if Manhunter didn't succeed in his mission soon after. That kid nearly _died_ on him, and he couldn't even do anything about it! There would be no more virtual realities from this point forward, no matter what anyone said. Dick was not allowed to participate in anything like that ever again, not if it meant losing him.

As Bruce finally finished pulling his civilian clothes on, the power went out, taking away his vision. Since it was stormy outside, he didn't question it at first, but when the emergency generator didn't immediately kick in he froze. No matter what kind of weather Gotham had, the emergency generator _always_ worked.

Someone had to have deactivated the emergency generator. And since Alfred knew not to touch it and Dick didn't know it existed, there likely was an intruder.

Bruce scrambled back to the main room, where his son was left alone. "Dick?!" There was no reply, but Bruce could sense the child was exactly where he left him. As he got closer, his earlier panic faded away enough for him to finally hear the quiet sobs the boy was making. "Chum?"

The lights turned back on just as Alfred hurried into the room. "Master Bruce? Thank heavens... When the power went out and remained that way, I was certain there was an intruder." He blinked as Robin came into view. "Sir?"

"I think I know what happened to the power," Bruce said quietly, watching Dick bury his face into his hands as he continued to cry. The billionaire narrowed his eyes as the lights flickered and the Bat Computer sparked. Bruce's gaze softened when the boy's sobs became louder and he scooped up the distressed child, holding him close. "It's okay now, Dick. You need to calm down."

Dick sniffed in response. "Sorry..."

"Don't be. We'll talk tomorrow; I have a feeling you could use some rest." He then carried the boy upstairs and up to his room, laying him down on his bed and making sure he was completely wrapped up in blankets. Dick seemed to have fallen asleep on the way there, so Bruce simply removed his mask instead of making him change out completely. He looked absolutely terrible...

"Master Bruce?" Alfred said when he returned to the Cave, sounding worried. "I'm sorry, but what in the world happened to Master Dick?"

Bruce set the mask down on his computer panel, and quietly told him what happened during the failsafe mission. "And when we came here, I guess he finally broke down." He ran a hand over his face, and collapsed on the chair. "Manhunter is concerned over the power his niece possesses, and now Dick showed me how much he can do with just a little chip in his brain. Alfred... You and I both know it takes a lot to take out the backup generator. I designed it to be able to withstand almost anything, and Dick took it out by _crying_. If something really set him off, who knows what he'd do? Without control over his abilities, he could _kill_ someone."

Alfred took this all in silently, and did not speak for the longest of times. "...Then you must train him to control those abilities."

"How?! He can hack into things just fine, but he only _breaks_ things when he has a strong emotional response! What do you suggest I do, Alfred, scar him for life once a week until he has full control over himself?!"

"You know that is not what I'm suggesting at all, sir." He frowned at him. "I feel as though there is something else on your mind, Master Bruce, and I suspect you should get it off your chest now before you accidentally lash out at the more emotionally vulnerable."

No, he most certainly did not want to snap at Dick. Bruce took in a deep breath before speaking again, "Alfred... Manhunter told me he gave Dick a mental look over when he wasn't paying attention, and the same results came back as last time: Dick doesn't _have_ any other abilities besides hacking. It's impossible for him to do anything else, yet he does!"

"But why does this worry you so much? I don't believe it is because of his lack of control; you know that there has to be a way to train him. So what is bothering you, if I may ask?"

"...I have a feeling that this ability of his _shouldn't_ be used at all; it's bad news." He closed his eyes. "I have a hunch that this has something to do with Deathstroke, and the last thing I want is for Dick to be hurt because of it."

xXx

 **AN: Over seven thousand words. Sheesh, this is one** ** _long_** **chapter.**

 **Robin: *glares* Seriously, I turned off the power? Why didn't I have this ability when I was fighting those stupid androids?!**

 **Me: *laughs* Because I'm evil Robbie, plain and simple.**

 **So, uh, yeah we're starting to get into the really fun stuff! Fun as in: emotionally scarring, and probably very depressing, but if you've gotten this far you obviously enjoy reading sad stories, so don't complain!**

 **See you all next chapter!**

 **(PS: those who read Differences in Grief should notice something interesting) ~^-^~**


	16. Who Am I?

Slade narrowed his eyes at the computer before him, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, so focused on his work that even the footsteps of a visitor were not enough to make him look away. "I see the chip is working again," Luthor commented as he walked into Deathstroke's work area, curious eyes studying the monitor the assassin was focused on.

"Not exactly," came his response, a small frown on his face as his typed commands were yet again ignored. "It said that Renegade's mission was complete earlier which was definitely untrue." He leaned back against his chair, head resting again his fist. "Now it says that his mission is still ongoing, and it's now at priority alpha status. I _know_ I didn't authorize that."

"And what exactly is the problem? Alpha status insures a quick finish, and you will have him at your command sooner than expected. I thought that was what you wanted."

"A quick finish, yes. A sloppy one, no. The chip's influence on his emotions is making it likely for him to complete his task at the wrong moment, which means the probability of him being caught will rise as well." He tapped his fingers against the desk. "I also noticed something that I believe could be the cause of the glitch in the system."

"And that is...?"

"Project Renegade was given the ability to break down technology to make battle with electronics impossible for an enemy. At my request, Cadmus made sure that he wouldn't be able to activate the ability until his Mission was complete, but for some reason, strong emotional responses enables him to lash out with this power now."

"Again, what is your point? His abilities do no harm to the Light, so I don't see the issue."

"The original plan was to keep him around for at least another month, to finalize his programming and train him to ensure him a place in the League, remember?"

A scoff. "Of course I do."

"Then my point is clear. Cadmus didn't get around to add the finishing touches to his programming, the Justice Brats broke him out before the date he was supposed to 'escape,' and as a result there are holes in his programming. The boy is able to use powers that he shouldn't posses, and because it goes against his programming, he becomes easily agitated. Part of him says that he can't use these powers, but the other half says he can. An inward battle such as this is what's making the chip confused, and now he's rushing through his Mission so that it wouldn't be a problem anymore. His chances of being caught are rising, and I will not stand for my soldier being taken away from me by the League."

"Hm. That does seem to be a problem, doesn't it? Well, you're in luck." Luthor smirked. "By next year's time, the League will be out of the way and your little pet will be at your side once again. The Light has a new plan, one that Renegade would only hinder if he were to stay where he is. He will be in your grasp by New Years."

"That is... wonderful news." Deathstroke smiled coldly. "But I was relying on Renegade's emotional response to completing his task to be able to get him to join me willingly. Without his Mission, there will be no emotions for me to take advantage of, and he will likely rebel against me."

"The solution is simple: if you can't make him join you willingly, tell him to fall." Lex chuckled as he began to take his leave. "I'm sure you know what to do then. After you have him, there isn't anything anyone can do to save him. No heroes outside of the League will bring him back, and the sidekicks will most likely die trying." He paused in the doorway. "But don't pull him out until our plan is ready. If the Light can't succeed in our plan, we'll need him to stay stationed."

"Of course." He watched as Luthor left, and turned back to look at the screen just in time for the monitor to show him Renegade's fear levels spiking. "Since it's three in the morning, and you're still at Wayne's, I assume you're having a nightmare," he mused out loud. A wicked grin appeared on his face. "Do not fear, my apprentice... The real nightmare has yet to come."

xXx

"I understand that you're hurting from what you experienced," Black Canary said softly.

"... Well, considering that I sent all of my friends to their deaths, I think I have a right to be a _little_ traumatized." He laughed hollowly.

"So talk to me, that's what I'm here for. I want to help you, Robin."

"When the Team was still new, all I wanted was to be leader, and I was furious at Kaldur for stealing my role." He shook his head and moved his gaze to the ground. "But now I realize how stupid I was. Kaldur took the leadership for selfless reasons, while I only wanted to lead so that I meant something to the Team. I was so desperate to matter that I would take up the responsibility of leading an entire team of super powered heroes... I was delusional. Still am."

"Your thirst to prove yourself, do you know where it originated from?"

He nodded slowly. "My time in Cadmus only taught me one lesson: that I'm useless. That's what the scientists have told me, what Desmond told me," he sighed. "And what my Mas- Deathstroke told me." His face fell. "It _really_ hurt when Deathstroke called me that; I tried so hard to please him, to make him proud of me, and all he did was-" he stopped short, closing his eyes. "I just needed to be told that I mattered, somewhere."

"Robin, you _do_ matter. You've helped the Team accomplish many missions, and you have saved dozens of lives already." He didn't reply, and she leaned forward. "Did your earlier fascination with Batman have anything to do with your need to prove yourself? I still remember when you had a cute obsession over him."

"... I don't know." He stared at the wall behind her. "Something about him inspired me, and I guess the mystery around him made me want to know him more." He frowned. "Bats took care of my training right away, and he gave me tools to use in the field that I could actually _keep_. For the first time that I could remember, I had a teacher who wouldn't shout abuse at me when I messed up. He _encouraged_ me. I guess a part of me always yearned for a parental figure after my parents died, and when Batman was kind towards me, I just sort of clung to him."

"And so you wanted to be like him."

"Yeah. I wanted to be like him so much that it was all that was on my mind for the longest time." He closed his eyes tightly. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to tell him?"

"Nothing leaves this room," she assured him.

He took in a shaky breath. "After Batman took me in, I thought it was a given that after he either passed away or retired, then I would become the next one. I thought that was part of the reason he took me in, so that there would always be a Batman protecting Gotham." He lowered his head. "I... I can't. He can give up anything for the sake of his mission without a second thought, but that's not me. I sacrificed my friends in order to save the world, and even though it wasn't real, that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I don't think I can be _the_ Batman anymore. I don't think I _want_ to."

Canary gave him a look of pure sympathy. "Robin, you don't need to become someone else for you to accomplish anything. You can be yourself, and-"

"How?!" He shouted suddenly, standing. "How can I be myself if I don't even know who I am?! Yeah, I finally have my identity, but Batman was wrong about me getting all of my memories back. I still don't know who I was, or what my parents were like." He snarled. "I don't even know how Cadmus captured me, or when! All of my memories are either gone or blurry, and by the time I broke myself out of Cadmus, I was an empty shell of a person! Dick Grayson died when he was eight, but who am I? I'm not Renegade, Deathstroke's pet assassin, and I'm not the cheerful Robin that Gotham thinks I am. I'm not even the rich son of Bruce Wayne!" He covered his face, whispering, "I look at my reflection and all I can see is some kid with black hair and blue eyes, but who is that?"

"Robin-"

Sobs forced their way past his throat as he clenched his fists. "I-I don't even know what I want anymore. I-it's like I keep forcing myself to go t-through life every day, but I'm sleep walking instead of actually living. Before the failsafe, nothing mattered but hero work, b-but now nothing matters at all. What am I supposed to do now?"

"You can continue living a double life as a hero, or," she lowered her voice. "Or you can retire, and be a civilian permanently if that's what you want."

"So you want me to hide from my problems, like a coward," he said crossly, a scowl forming.

"Rob- Dick, you're still just a child. No one would frown at you if the stress was too much and you wanted to leave. In fact, I'm sure everyone will understand." While Robin continued to look indecisive, she smiled in reassurance. "And retiring from hero work doesn't have to be permanent. You can come back if you decide that's what you want, once you find yourself. That's what you want, isn't it? To learn about yourself?"

"... I don't know," he admitted. "A part of me wants to, but the other half wants- needs me to continue what I'm doing now."

"The only life you know is an extraordinary one, whether it be locked away in the depths of Cadmus or saving the world, you don't remember living a normal life. I think you're afraid to give up what's familiar to you."

"Maybe..." He mentally sighed to himself. He should have known that nobody, not even Black Canary, would know how he felt. It wasn't just the familiarity of an extraordinary life that kept him from permanently hanging up the mask, but something like... instinct. There was always a push towards the League, a constant thought in the back of his mind. He felt like there was an important duty he had to accomplish within the hero community. His destiny, maybe? He didn't believe in destiny, but what else could be gluing him to where he stood in the world?

Canary watched him for a moment, trying to read emotions she couldn't possibly understand. "If you don't want to leave, but still want to find yourself, I think a trip to the past will help you in the long run. When was the last time you allowed yourself to think about your circus days?"

He frowned. His memories before Cadmus were covered in thick fog, and while he was sometimes able to see distant images in the haze, they were never clear enough to put all of the puzzle pieces together. Maybe Canary was right, he needed to do research on his past self, maybe learn about his parents while he was at it.

"I think I'll try that." He said, wiping away the wetness on his face. "Sorry for the emotional breakdown. It's just-" he stopped mid-sentence, struggling to find words to finish it.

She held up a hand. "There is no need for am apology. It sounds like you had a lot on your chest, and I'm glad you let it all out rather than keeping it to yourself like a certain bat we both know."

Dick cracked a small smile. "Yeah..." he stood up taller, forcing his smile to widen. "Well, not that this hasn't been fun or anything, but can I go now?"

She nodded with a smile of her own, seeming pleased by his apparent emotional recovery. "You may, but remember that you can come talk to me whenever you want, okay?"

He snorted. "I'll remember that the next time you're on a date with Green Arrow." A small chuckle came from BC as he left her office, and he bolted towards the Zeta Tubes the moment the door closed behind him.

xXx (Sometime Later) xXx

"Hey Bruce?"

Bruce continued typing out a text to Lucius, who had asked when his business meetings should be rescheduled to. Knowing that he wouldn't ever get back to replying if he let himself get distracted by conversation, he simply said, "Yes Dick?" And hoped that he wouldn't be offended by his distracted answer.

Luck was on his side, because the boy didn't seem bothered. "How would you feel if I died?"

Bruce's fingers froze just an inch above the buttons of his phone, and his head snapped up to look at the hesitant teen. Out of all of the things he was expecting, that was definitely not one of them. "...Why?" He asked slowly, wondering if the session with Black Canary an hour ago wasn't as successful as he had thought. This had to have been about the failsafe in some way, he knew.

Maybe because Dick died near the end?

"I-" Dick started, but then seemed to rethink it, sighing quietly. "You know what, never mind. Forget I said anything, 'kay?"

Before Bruce could get another word in the sudden conversation, the boy spun around and hurriedly fled the room. Blinking a few times, he turned his attention back to his phone and tried to go back to what he was doing, but found that his brain refused to let the question be pushed to the back of his mind. What _would_ he do if Dick died?

... He didn't want to know.

xXx

 **AN: Thank you all for your reviews! See you all next chapter!**


	17. Chapter 17

Robin wasn't sure why Batman brought him into the Mountain, and his confusion only grew when he saw Aqualad and Red Arrow patiently waiting for them in a separate room. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on when his gaze met Roy's, and his mouth snapped shut. The archer barely acknowledged him, but that wasn't what caught his attention, it was the familiar buzz coming from his head that made him stare.

It was then that Robin realized that he forgot to bring that up with Batman. Hopefully, it wasn't important information.

"Computer, secure the room," his mentor ordered without any prior greeting to the gathered boys.

 **"Secured."**

"I'll cut to it," Batman said, standing tall. "Do we believe there's a mole within the Team?"

Robin's eyes widened. Batman invited him to discuss something that could potentially involve him? If the League was seriously worried about a mole, Dick would have been high on the list of suspects, and should have been kept in the dark.

"I am convinced there is none," Aqualad said calmly, unaware of Robin's inner turmoil. "When Sportsmaster claimed he had an inside source, he was merely sowing dissent. His intel could easily have come by comparing notes with the other villains working for the so called Injustice League."

Robin slowly nodded in acknowledgment, pushing his earlier thoughts to the side. There must have been a reason Batman brought him there, and he would trust his mentor's decision, at least for now. And if Batman wanted him to join in on the mole discussion, he would.

Thinking about Aqualad's words, he realized how much sense he made. There was no clear proof that Sportsmaster was telling the truth when he claimed there was a mole in the Team. How could they trust the word of the enemy? But then again, even the most malicious villains spoke the truth sometimes. Until they had proof, or had enough data to deduce the truth, they would never know.

"I'm not convinced," Roy argued. Robin rolled his eyes; of course _Roy_ would say that. "Sure, you two and Kid Flash are above suspicion," Wait, what? Roy thought there was a mole, but he didn't believe he _was_ a potential suspect? Robin didn't know whether he should be offended or not. Was that Red Arrow's way of insulting him, by saying that he wasn't capable of being a spy for? Or was Robin reading into it too much? "But I know for a fact Artemis isn't shooting straight. For starters, she's not Green Arrow's niece."

Kaldur stood straighter. "What?"

They still didn't know about her relations, even now? Robin thought that the Team's mentors would have revealed that the moment Sportsmaster and Cheshire started to pose a threat. "Well, yeah. In fact, she's related to-"

"Enough," Batman interrupted, and Robin shut his mouth. "Artemis's relations may indeed make her suspect, but she's still entitled to a secret identity." In other words, the League was keeping her identity a secret, probably to avoid discrimination. Smart... "I'm more concerned about Superboy. We still know very little about what Cadmus programmed into their weapon. Connor could be the mole and not know it."

... It was official, Batman lost all sense of logic.

"I am not so sure we should jump to such conclusions with Connor." Kaldur glanced at Robin. "Superboy was not the only project found in Cadmus, and not the only one who could have programming used against us." Finally, someone said it.

Red Arrow glared at the Atlantian in response. "Yeah, but _Robin_ wasn't created for the sole purpose of becoming a _weapon_."

What the hell? Roy never seemed to like Robin at all before now, and now all of a sudden, he was defending him? He expected something like that from Batman, maybe, but definitely not Archer Boy.

"Yes, but he was also being trained to become an _assassin_. Who is to say there isn't-"

"I think the world's greatest detective would have noticed if his protege had any programming, especially if they've been living under the same roof this long. Robin is _not_ the mole," he said firmly, a deep frown forming on his face, as though he confused himself with his defensiveness towards the acrobat. Eventually, his expression cleared, and he moved on to another point, "Miss Martian on the other hand... She _is_ Manhunter's niece, but he told Black Canary he has a few hundred nieces and nephews. And the first time he met M'gann was five months ago, when she stowed away on his last trip from Mars to Earth. How much about Miss Martian do we really know?"

Kaldur met his gaze with a challenging stare. "This changes nothing. I have fought side by side with these people; none are traitors."

Robin rose his eyebrows. "Really, now you say that? You were quick to say I was a traitor earlier." He rested his head against his fist, arm propped up on the armrest. "Oh, and don't forget about the day the androids attacked us. While Artemis and I were trying to figure out what happened, we found security footage of you questioning our loyalties."

Batman narrowed his eyes at the Team leader, as this was apparently new information to him.

Kaldur sighed and pinched his nose. "I apologize, I was under large amounts of stress when I accused you and Artemis of being moles. The idea of a traitor on this Team made me wary, and as a result I had to make sure there wasn't any questionable activity among us."

"And what about a minute ago? What's your excuse for that?" Roy asked in an accusing tone.

A grimace. "I must apologize for that as well. I did not mean to sound like I do not trust you, Robin. I know you work hard as second command of the Team, and you would not betray us of your own will. I was only trying to make a comparison between you and Superboy in hopes of clearing away all doubts towards Connor. As I had said before, it is my strong belief that the Team has no spies."

After a few seconds of silence, Robin nodded in acceptance. "Well actually, now that I'm thinking about it again, you do have every reason to suspect I'm the mole. You know nothing about me, my identity or my past, so I would actually be surprised if I _wasn't_ suspect. Even I'm suspicious of myself!"

"There is _no_ mole," Aqualad said forcefully. "That means you as well, Robin."

"There could be!" Robin argued, pushing himself off of his chair. "The probability of having a traitor amongst us is high, what with all of our sketchy backgrounds. I understand why you don't want to believe there's a mole, trust me, I do, but to ignore the potential threat we pose just because you don't want to believe it exists would be a stupid mistake. It could even be a _deadly_ mistake."

"But to point accusing fingers without any evidence would start a civil war among us!" Aqualad argued.

"Robin is right," Roy said, coming to stand next to the acrobat. "Except that he _isn't_ the mole, of course. Green Arrow let it slip that Batman had Manhunter mentally check Robin over _several_ times, even when he was completely unaware of it, just to make sure there was no ill intent anywhere in his brain. Robin is not on my list of suspects."

The presence next to him made him apprehensive, for some reason. The buzzing noise only became louder the closer he came, and Robin winced from the headache it was giving him. Did Roy have some high tech ear piece that was messing with his chip? Did he have an arrow with the ability to mess with hacking devices? Robin focused on the buzzing, but found that any time he tried to pinpoint its exact location, the buzzing would stop until he gave it up. What in the world...

And why was Roy so defensive about him being the mole? And what was that he just said?

"Wait a second." Robin spun around to face Batman, eyes narrowed. "You had Manhunter scan me without telling me?"

His mentor's face remained stoic. "You and I were both apprehensive of the possibility of your chip possessing harmful programming, and since you were able to do things neither of us could explain, I had Manhunter check you over while you weren't paying attention. If you had abilities that shut themselves off whenever you were aware of your brain being scanned, then we would have to do it without your knowledge. Your tests came up negative for programming yet again."

Robin grit his teeth. "And you _didn't_ bother telling me that I didn't have any programming? You know that's been on my mind for months! Why would you keep that a secret, of all things?"

The lenses of the cowl narrowed.

"Able to do things you couldn't understand...?" Kaldur repeated, looking between the Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder. "What was meant by that? Is Robin able to do things we haven't been informed about?"

"...Robin has abilities that he isn't allowed to use in the field, not until he can fully control them." He ignored the fierce glare that was sent towards him. "You don't need to worry about what it is he can do."

Robin growled. "Batman, I-"

Roy put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, we're not assuming that this ability makes you the mole, right Kaldur?" The Atlantian nodded stiffly, and Red squeezed his shoulder. "Relax."

"... Relax," Robin repeated, mystified. Yes... that was what he needed to do. The blood thirsty rage drained from him completely, replaced by pure exhaustion. "Sorry for getting so worked up," he muttered, blinking rapidly. His emotions were out of control lately, and he honestly expected to snap much earlier than this. The failsafe mission from a few days ago was still fresh on his mind, making him highly irritable, but that didn't give him a right to take everything out on those surrounding him.

"We understand, Robin. It has been a most trying month for us all," Aqualad said with a small smile.

Roy hummed in agreement. "Anyways, let's continue our discussion. I think we can agree that even if there isn't a mole, which there probably is, we should at least take certain precautions to ensure that we won't be betrayed in the future."

Robin nodded absently, not noticing the piercing eyes of his mentor that bore into the back of his head.

xXx

Hours after the meeting in the Mountain, Bruce tapped away at his keyboard, a look of extreme concentration on his face. He _knew_ that brining Roy and Dick into the same room without outside distractions would help his investigation of the mole. He had no idea how he knew this, exactly, but he was glad that he acted on his hunch.

Roy did something to Dick that automatically made the boy calm down, and Bruce wanted to know why, and how.

Dick had been on an emotional roller coaster all week, going from content to snarling in the timespan of a few seconds. Bruce was used to these changes in emotions, and could usually tell when the teen was going to snap, so he knew for a fact that Dick was about to lash out and cause some chaos inside the Mountain, just as Roy put a hand on his shoulder.

 _"The chances of that chip being connected to the part of his brain that controls emotions is close to one hundred percent, if his past breakdowns are anything to go by. A strong electrical current has the potential to temporarily stop the signals the chip has to the brain, but unless Roy developed the ability to manipulate the flow of shock currents..."_ he paused. _"Wait. Instead of an electric current, it might be possible to alter Dick's chip using radio waves, like two cellphones sending and receiving messages. When Roy put a hand on Dick's shoulder, it was possible that there was a connection being made, and Roy sent Dick the command of calming down."_

Bruce frowned and forwarded this information to Lucius, who knew more about this subject than he did. Within minutes, he had a text on his phone reading, 'Need another cellphone for something like that, Mr. Wayne. Do you have a pair of phones, or just one?'

A pair...

His eyes widened. _"A pair of chips! Roy must have a chip similar to Dick's!"_

But the question was why? Why did Roy have something like that, when he supposedly had no connection to Cadmus or the Injustice League? Did this make him the mole? Well, even if Roy became a spy, that didn't explain why he would have a computer chip surgically installed into his brain. He could have been an excellent spy without it. Perhaps the chip was forced upon him? That didn't make much sense either. Surely, Roy would have brought it up at some point.

But when could Roy have had the chance to have that chip installed? He would've had to have been gone for a long period of time for such a surgery to be performed at all. Frowning to himself, Bruce pulled on his cowl and called the Watchtower. "Batcave to Watchtower. Requesting an audience with Green Arrow."

The requested hero appeared on screen. _"Green Arrow to Batman. What's up?"_

What's up? What kind of hero says 'what's up?' The informality irked him, and his dislike towards Arrow didn't help. However, he ignored it, putting is current mission before his agitation. "I have a question in regards to your former protege. Was there ever a time where Roy was kidnapped, and was missing for more than a couple of weeks?"

The archer snorted. _"And here I thought you were finally trying to make friends, and ask me how my day has been. It's been horrible, thanks for not asking."_ He chuckled nervously as he was met with a batglare. _"Okay, I get it, no joking around. You probably get enough of that with that clown over there, huh? Well, back to business! Let's see..."_ he furrowed his eyebrows. _"Well when he was still just starting the hero gig, he was kidnapped. I looked for him for three whole months before I finally found him. Poor kid barely remembered what they did to him."_ He paused. _"Why is this important?"_

Batman ignored the question. "Did he act differently after the incident?"

A blink. _"Yeah, now that you mention it, his teenage rebellion stage started just after I got him back. Temper tantrums, defiance, no appreciation for my jokes..."_ he rose his eyebrows. _"What, are you hoping for some parenting advice?"_

"... If I wanted parenting advice, it would not be from you." Without another word, he ended the call, and immediately slipped his cowl back off.

He sat back against his chair, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. There was something _wrong_ with Roy Harper, and Bruce wouldn't rest until he figured out what it was. If that man so much as acted violently towards any of the Team, especially Robin, he would be faced with the full force of the wrath of Batman. And that was a promise. All that left was to determine what exactly Roy was, and what he was doing. A mole, or just a coincidence? Bruce _would_ find out.

"Bruce!" Dick suddenly threw the door open to the Bat Cave, and appeared in front of him with wide eyes. "Quick, we need to go to the store, before it's too late!"

...Well then.

Bruce blinked rapidly, changing from hero mode to parent mode in a split second. "Too late for what? What in the world are you talking about?"

Dick huffed and pulled out his cellphone, waving it in front of his face. Bruce barely caught sight of a text message before the device was hastily put back into the teen's front pocket. "Commissioner Gordon is making Barbara go trick-or-treating with him this year, and she asked if I could go with her so that she wouldn't be bored, and I said yes, but I have no idea what to do, and Gordon wants you to come if I go with, and Barbara told me we should match costumes, but-"

"Slow down, Dick." Bruce said with a light chuckle. The teen took in a deep breath and was about to speak again, but Bruce held up a hand to silence him. "Okay, so you need to go to the store and get a costume, right? Is that what you're so worked up about?"

"Well, yeah..." his face turned red. "But, um, I also have no idea what trick-or-treating is. I heard a couple of classmates talking about it, but I ignored it because I figured it had nothing to do with me. Is it some sort of party? I've never been to a party! What the hell do you even do at a party anyways? What if Barbara laughs at me because I have no idea what's going on? What if she doesn't want to be my friend?" He frowned. "Barbara is my only civilian friend, I don't want her to think I'm an idiot!"

... Where did these thoughts even _come_ from? Why did Dick automatically come to the worst conclusions? That was a habit that definitely needed to be broken. "Relax, it isn't a party. It's when you dress up in a costume and go to random houses and ask for candy. It's that simple."

"But isn't it a rule to not take candy from strangers? And why do we dress up in costumes? That's so weird... I don't understand half of the things civilians do..."

The distantly sad look on Dick's face urged him to stand, and he put a hand on his shoulder to steer him towards the exit. "You'll have a decent understanding once you experience it yourself. As for the candy, you are not to eat a single piece of it until I've thoroughly checked it over, okay? Even though this is a child friendly holiday, there are still people who will try to harm others by doing something to their candy."

"... Okay." He bit his lip. "But, um, we better hurry. I have a feeling most of the good costumes are gone."

"I'll drive us, so then we won't have to wait for Alfred. Is that fine?" Dick nodded, and he smiled. "Good, then let's go. What is it that Barbara is dressing up as?" He imagined something like a princess, maybe even a police officer, something Gordon would approve of.

Dick averted his eyes, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Well, you see... she wanted to dress up as her hero, but he was a man, and so she created a female version of him." He laughed nervously, and Bruce had a feeling he knew where this was going. It certainly made sense, what with Jim's views on the hero of Gotham. Dick caught sight of his dawned look, and nodded almost grimly. "Yeah, she kinda looks up to you, but she didn't want to dress up like a guy. She made her own costume, and is calling herself 'Batwoman.' Honestly, Batgirl would sound a lot better, in my opinion..." he grimaced. "But since Batman is a popular character, we better hurry to the store so that we can match. I have a bad feeling there isn't going to be anything left, and Barb's gonna kill me."

"...You want to be Batman for Halloween."

"...Yeah." Dick looked up at him hesitantly. "Problem?"

Bruce smiled and ruffled his hair, earning himself a look of slight irritation. "No problem. Come on, let's get you a Batman costume. If there isn't any, I'll just use Brucie's money to get what you want."

Dick's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "You would bribe someone just to get me a costume?"

"A _good_ costume." Bruce said firmly as they closed the clock door behind them. "Because I only get the best for my son."

Dick's face lit up at that, and Bruce decided that nothing, not even the mystery of Roy Harper, could make him give up this night. He might have missed out on five years of celebrating Halloween with this boy, but he wouldn't give up another.

What he wasn't aware of was that this might be his first and _last_ Halloween with his son.

xXx

 **AN: Oh look, its the shy creature known as the Update, making an appearance in its natural habitat- A Story. Watch as it appears at random, either twice a week, or once a month. Its loving mother, known to us as an Author, was supposed to bring a new Update into the world once a week, but has failed to do so at a regular schedule. If the Author doesn't produce an Update often enough, creatures called Readers will often become agitated and screech in her ear until she does so. This may seem cruel, but the truth is the Author needs these shoutings in order to get her shit together, which is necessary for the creation of a new Update.**

 **(I have a lot of energy, okay? Don't judge.**

 **Thanks for the comments and votes from last chapter! I hope to see you all next... week? Next month? Tomorrow? I don't even know. xD)**


	18. Distressing Disappearance

**AN: I know I've been inactive lately, but I decided to make sure this chapter was done today as a present to all of the readers who celebrates Christmas. This might be late depending on where you live but it's still Christmas here, so I'm going to count it.**

 **Enjoy**!

xXx

The noise of the vacuum humming inside of the living room was a little distracting, Dick came to realize as he stared his history homework in the kitchen, tapping his pencil against the table as he tried to recall information that could help him with his assignment. Who was the president during World War II? Lincoln? Columbus? The question zipped around in his brain aimlessly, never to encounter an answer. Why did America put an embargo on Japan? Who created the atomic bomb? Einstein, right?

His thoughts tried to stay glued to that bit of information but of course, they didn't. The image of his mentor sending the Team to pick up supplies surfaced in his brain, and another wave of jealously hit him head on. It wasn't fair that they were allowed to hang out while he was stuck doing history homework. Sure, his grades were starting to tumble downhill, but he could have easily brought them back up without Bruce's sudden grounding. It wasn't as if US history was going to help him in the field anyways!

The oven timer suddenly went off, disrupting his thoughts. He scowled and tried to block out the noise, but it's insistent beeping sound was impossible to ignore. Seconds turned into minutes, and the hum of the vacuum did not silence, and neither did the oven. Seriously, was Alfred deaf or something?

"Alf, the cookies are done!" He hollered, turning his head to the ajar door. The vacuum continued to hum, and he sighed. "Alfred, the cookies!"

Silence.

Dick glowered and slammed his pencil onto the table, standing. Fine, he would have to get the butler's attention some other way. With an annoyed grumble, Dick slipped over to the door and threw it open. "Alfred-"

The room was empty, and the humming vacuum was left abandoned in front of the television. Dick's annoyance cleared away immediately, and he scurried over to the alliance to turn it off. "... Alfie?"

Something was wrong his hero instincts told him. Alfred would never leave a room while a vacuum was still turned on. The man was never so absent minded, he was always right on top of those kinds of things. What could have possibly made the butler forget to turn the vacuum off?

Maybe he was exaggerating, he thought to himself. People forgot things all the time. He had regarded everyone in his adoptive family as perfect beings, but even they had to make mistakes from time to time. Yeah... Alfred must have been distracted by something else and accidentally left the vacuum on.

The oven began to beep again, and Dick felt dread build up in his stomach. No, Alfred might have been able to forget about the vacuum cleaner, but there was no way he could forget about the cookies in the oven, not with it constantly letting out a loud reminder. Something _had_ to be wrong.

Not wanting to return to a burnt down house, Dick hastily returned to the kitchen and pulled the tray of cookies out. As he was only gone for a couple of minutes, the sweets didn't look to be burnt. That was good. Alfred would have been angry with himself if the treats he put so much time into making went to waste.

Huh. Now that he thought about it, Dick had no idea what the special occasion was that called for any kind of sugary food. He would make sure to definitely ask later. Right now, he had a (kind of) adopted grandfather to find.

...

Minutes later, Dick was no where closer to finding out what happened to Alfred. He had searched the bedrooms, the dining hall, the game room, the laundry area, and every bathroom in the house, coming up with absolutely nothing. He was starting to grow worried. Alfred wasn't getting any younger; the amount of health problems that could have came up were starting to overwhelm him. If Alfred was hurt and he couldn't find him...

Wincing, Dick pulled out his phone and dialed the man's cellphone number once again, waiting impatiently until the monotone sound of his voicemail started. It has been close to twenty minutes, and there was no sign of the butler anywhere. It was time to contact Bruce.

One trip to the Bat Cave later, Dick found himself sitting in the chair in front of the Bat Computer. He knew that he technically had restricted access to the Cave while he was grounded, but damn it this was important! If Bruce so much as gave him a bat glare because he disobeyed orders, he would explode. "Robin to Batman," he called, typing a few buttons on the keyboard. A window came up to show him his mentor's face, but nothing was there. Just a bunch of static. "Robin to Batman," he tried again, forcefully. The static in front of him didn't change at all, and no Bruce appeared on screen. Okay, first Alfred, and now Bruce? What the hell?

He closed the tab, heart beating loudly in his chest. Okay, maybe Batman was busy with whatever it was that he was doing in the Mountain (though now that he thought about it, getting supplies shouldn't have taken so long...). Dick would simply contact Mount Justice and hope that he could speak with his mentor from there.

Nodding to himself, Dick hastily grabbed a spare pair of sunglasses he always kept around, and typed another command on the Computer's keyboard. "Robin to the Cave," he said, and a window appeared, showing him the interior of the Mountain. The entire Team, plus a girl he could only assume was Zatanna were gathered in front of the screen, faces all grim. Something in his stomach sank as he took in their expressions. _Not_ good. "What's going on over there?" He asked, keeping his face relaxed. "I can't reach Batman."

His Teammates shared a look, and Kaldur sighed. "Batman, Zatara, and Red Tornado have... disappeared."

His eyes widened. "They _what_?" He asked, blood running cold. Bruce was gone? Where did he go? Was he okay? Was he alive? This was like a rerun of the failsafe... He shook his head, halting his descendent to a panicked state. He had to stay whelmed. "Have the other Justice Leaguers been notified?"

Wally swallowed. "That's the thing- we can't contact anyone from the League. They're _all_ gone." He lowered his eyes. "That's not all. We're getting reports from all over the world, saying the exact same thing. All adults are missing, everyone over the age of eighteen."

Robin's thoughts immediately went to Alfred. If all of the adults were gone, that explained why he couldn't find him anywhere either. But where were they? Was this permanent? He couldn't stay by himself...

Kaldur cleared his throat. "We must not allow ourselves to lose our heads. We are Earth's heroes as of now, and we need to act accordingly. It is our job to locate the missing adults and rescue them if needed. Robin, I must ask for you to join us. We need all of the help we can get."

Robin nodded briskly. "On my way now," he declared before turning the computer off. "Please don't be dead, Bruce..." he said quietly, staring at the blank screen. "I can't lose you again."

xXx (Later) xXx

After another failed attempt at contacting an adult hero, Robin was just about ready to give up. His latest attempt had been Red Arrow, but his work was only met with the same static he encountered with every adult's comm. Each failed attempt to contact an adult only added on to his and Zatanna's shared depression.

He was about to try another Leaguer when a new tab opened on his holo computer, and Wally's voice spoke up _, "We've set up a refuge center at the high school gym. Any luck with-"_

"No. Can't reach Batman, Hall of Justice, or the Watch-" he stopped, realizing that there could be children listening on the other end. "Or any adult hero, even Red Arrow."

 _"Guess we're on our own."_ A sigh. _"Kid Flash out."_ The tab closed.

Robin grimaced. Everything about the missing adults reminded him of the failsafe, and how they had to step up to the challenge of becoming Earth's only heroes. Sure, the task would be easier now since all they had to worry about was children, but the thought of Batman being dead again hit him hard. Not only that, but now Alfred was gone too. If they never located the adults, what would happen to them once any of them hit eighteen? Would they be transported to an unknown location? Would they automatically die?

Zatanna's voice snapped him out of his alarming thoughts. "Traditional media is offline, but kids worldwide are all posting the same thing," the magician girl swiped through the different messages on her screen. "Every adult, eighteen or older had disappeared. The sorcery necessary to pull this off?" She looked at him grimly. "Scary big."

The Team had came to the conclusion that magic had to have been involved as soon as they started getting reports of other adults being missing. A simple weapon couldn't have the power to make every adult on the Earth disappear simultaneously. "And we need _you_ to find the source," he told her. It made sense, what with Zatanna being their only available magician. Besides, KF told him enough about her abilities to be able to determine she was a decent hero.

"How am I-?"

With a few keystrokes, an old security video was brought up. "I pulled this footage. It's your dad, helping us locate Wotan and the Injustice League last month." On the screen, Zatara walked up to a holographic globe and rose his hands, chanting.

"B-but the words are only part of it. The rest takes training, and..." she lowered her head. "Robin, I-I'm just not at Zatara's level."

He turned to look at her, feeling sympathetic. It was difficult to live up to their mentors' names, he knew. "I know it's hard, but try to stay whelmed. We'll find your dad, Batman, all of them. It's what we do."

Zatanna stared at him for a moment before a small smile graced her lips. "I'll try."

Aqualad entered the room at that moment. "I have found no clues to where the adults have gone," he said briskly, looking troubled. "But I _have_ found plenty of terrified children, who have lost all sense of order. It is clear that we must intervene and calm them, somehow. I propose we send a worldwide message to assure everyone that they are not alone, and we are doing everything we can to bring their parents back."

Robin was again reminded of the failsafe mission, and how they sent out a message to let everyone know there were still heroes left. That wasn't something he liked remembering, so he ignored it with a nod towards Aqualad. "Rerouting all satellite signals now. It should take a couple of minutes." He turned to Zatanna, who was staring at the floor. "Uh, why don't you do whatever you need to to get yourself ready?" She nodded, though she looked unsure, and stalked out of the room.

Aqualad took her place at Robin's side, staring at the screens with a stern expression. "I have contacted Kid Flash and asked him to join us. As two of the most well known child heroes, it would catch more attention if you two were to address our audience as well as I."

Well known? Since when? Robin only became a hero a couple of months ago, and became Robin just recently. Well... he _did_ live in Gotham. It made sense for a child hero working in such a dark city to attract some sort of attention.

Still, thinking about children who possibly wanted to be like _him_... that made him smile.

 **"Recognized: Kid Flash, B03."**

Show time.

"The camera will be rolling in ten seconds, guys. Get in front of this screen-" he gestured to the holo screen in front of him. "And address your audience."

Aqualad stepped sideways so that he was close enough, while KF zipped over just as the last seconds counted down.

3.

2.

1.

For a split second, the Mountain had disappeared and was replaced by the interior of the alien mother ship. Robin briefly saw himself screaming as the ship was lit up with flames, but the scene dissolved as soon as Aqualad began to speak, "Attention, children and teenagers of Earth. I am Aqualad. These are my friends, Robin and Kid Flash."

Robin took over, speaking in a voice that was too calm for anyone to suspect what was going on in his head. "We're using Justice League tech to cast and stream to any TV, radio, computer, and smartphone on the planet."

Kid Flash spoke next, "We know you must be scared and angry. We know that with your parents missing there's a temptation to run wild, but please, stay calm."

"We will find a way to bring the adults back, but for now, the oldest among you _must_ step up," Aqualad said sternly.

"Take care of your younger siblings," Robin said softly. "Take care of kids who have no one."

Kid Flash nodded. "Protect them."

"It's up to you," Aqualad finished, voice filled with sympathy. "Please, help in any way you can."

xXx

Robin used his holo glove to bring up a holographic globe once again. Zatanna stepped towards it, raising one of her hands and an unfamiliar wand towards it, a new look of determination on her face. "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!" As she finished, a red symbol appeared in the eastern part of North America.

"Coordinates locked: Roanoke Island." He grinned. "You did it."

Zatanna blushed, and stammered a quick thanks, a broad smile on her face.

Aqualad narrowed his eyes at the location of the symbol. "We should go over a battle strategy before rushing into an unknown area. Who knows what enemy we will encounter there? Robin, I need you to look into any possible evil magic users on the planet so that we will be prepared for whoever we-"

"It works!" Everyone spun around to face the source of the unfamiliar voice. A short boy stood in the center of the room, a triumphant grin in his face. Robin rose his eyebrows. Um...?

"Where did you come from? Who are you?" Aqualad demanded as the Team ran towards the stranger.

"Quick, read my mind!" The kid ordered Miss Martian.

M'gann complied, eyes glowing green as she went into his mind. Seconds later, she gasped. "He's... Captain Marvel."

... Wait, what?

"Yeah, and I'm Speedy Gonzales." KF scoffed. "Look, just because he believes he's Cap-"

"Gee Wally, do I really have to get you nachos and pineapple juice to get on your good side?" The boy put his hands on his hips, looking smug.

 **"... Updating information,"** his chip chimed, and Dick mentally groaned.

xXx

"There will be threats in both dimensions," Batman told them, using Marvel as a messenger. "We may not be familiar with our opponents."

"But the key to this mission is a coordinated simultaneous attack," Aqualad said, and sent Marvel back for confirmation.

When the boy returned again, he nodded. "Agreed. Our best chance against sorcery is to strike fast, disrupt their efforts."

"And hope the two dimensions merge naturally back into one," Aqualad finished, raising a determined fist. "Let's go."

As Robin trailed behind his teammates as they all headed to the bioship, he couldn't help but smile in relief. Batman, Alfred, and all of the adults were okay, even though they were in another universe. That took a _lot_ of weight off of his shoulders. Not knowing if his adopted family members were okay or not had been driving him insane.

Now he wondered: what went through Batman's mind when he realized that _he_ was missing? Did they have similar thoughts, or did he completely disregard his emotions in order to remain focused? How did Alfred take his disappearance?

"Robin, we're ready to go. Come on!"

He could ponder over it some other time. Now, it was time to defeat their enemies and bring back the adults.

xXx

 _"Robin, Artemis, now!"_ Aqualad mentally commanded, and the two obeyed, throwing birdarangs and shooting arrows at the distant enemy. Unfortunately, the witch boy seemed to have been able to sense their attacks, and turned around to stop them midair.

"That's the best you can do?" Klarion asked teasingly, and rose his hands to send tendrils of red, lightning-like magic at the two. Robin felt his muscles spasm as he collapsed, and grit his teeth to silence his screams. His vision blurred, but he blinked to clear it. Robin scowled as he saw the villain's smug face from afar, and pushed himself up. There was no way he would let himself be taken down so soon, not by some brat.

Klarion now had a red force field surrounding himself, which was easily able to deflect all of his teammates' attacks. Okay, so physical attacks were out of the question, and unless Klarion was secretly a robot, Robin's other abilities would be useless as well. What exactly could he do besides sit around and watch from the sidelines? What could _any_ of them do?

All of a sudden, the orange cat that was laying next to the force field tripled in size, just from a wave of Klarion's hands. Superboy charged towards it with a shout, but was easily knocked aside by the feline's giant claws. Well, _that_ seemed important.

 _"That cat is the key to defeating Klarion,"_ Wally told everyone through the link. _"If we get rid of it, we get rid of him."_

Yeah, definitely important.

Robin pulled out two explosive disks and threw them at the massive cat, watching as they went off and covered the area in smoke. When the smoke cleared, it revealed that the animal was unaffected by the attack, though it _was_ somewhat annoyed. Robin looked down at the disks in his other hand, frowning deeply. Every single fight with a villain has made him feel useless. None of his weapons ever did anything to his foes, so why did he even bother...

Miss Martian rose into the air, bringing a couple of decent sized boulders. She then waved her hands down and sent the rocks falling on top of the cat, who growled as one hit its head. M'gann was about to repeat her action but had to float out of the way to avoid one of Klarion's shocking attacks. As the Martian moved out of the way, the attack hit the ground directly in front of the cat, and its fur stood on end as it scurried backwards.

Robin was suddenly hit with an idea. _"Aqualad, try to elect-"_

"So, you teamed up with the grown-ups," Klarion interrupted, and Robin glanced over to see the gem in the middle of the casting circle spark dangerously. "Team work is so overrated."

And then, Robin was struck by more lightning. He heard Artemis shout in pain next to him, but he was so focused on how his body was shutting down to make himself care. He was barely able to register the fact that he never was able to tell Aqualad his plan before everything went black.

xXx

 _An eight year old Dick Grayson dove to the side to avoid being stabbed, and quickly cartwheeled behind Deathstroke as soon as he regained his balance. He then dropped down to attempt to kick the man's feet out from under him, but in a blur, Deathstroke spun around and kicked him in the torso to knock him onto his back, and a crushing foot was on his chest to keep him in place. "Too slow," his mentor told him coldly, adding pressure._

 _Dick cried out and desperately tried to pry the foot off of him. "I-I'm_ _ **trying**_ _. You're t-too strong." He whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut as the man didn't relent. "Deathstroke, please stop."_

 _There was an irritated sigh and the weight disappeared. Dick sucked in a sharp breath of relief, but his brief happiness was stomped into dust as Deathstroke grabbed him by the hair and threw him backwards. "When are you going to get it through your thick skull? Don't say please to an enemy!"_

 _Dick blinked away the tears in his eyes as he scurried up to his feet, but a powerful knee to the stomach made him gasp and fall back to his knees. "Deathstroke..._ _ **stop**_ _."_

 _The man chuckled. "Better... but no, I won't stop." He swooped down and picked Dick up by the collar of his shirt, holding him in the air. "I won't stop until this pathetic excuse of a boy proves his worth."_

 _Dick didn't bother to struggle, knowing that it would be a waste of time. "H-how can I do that?"_

 _He sneered at him. "The Light has plans for you that will be made affective when I deem that you are ready. You have been given a_ _ **very**_ _important mission, and only after you complete this mission will I acknowledge your worth."_

 _Dick's eyes widened. "I'm getting a mission?" That meant he could finally leave that scary place and get help! He could find the man who was supposed to adopt him. Mr. Wayne, wasn't it? "What is it?"_

 _Deathstroke chuckled again. "Eager, are we?" He dropped him on the ground. "You have potential, Grayson, and that is why I volunteered you to be Renegade. That is your mission"_

 _"... R-Renegade?" Dick squeaked, keeping his pained tears at bay._

 _"Yes, Renegade. You are the future traitor_ _ **and**_ _destroyer of the Justice League." Dick could almost hear his smirk. "Congratulations."_

xXx

Robin forced his eyes open, groaning ad he did so. Ouch... everything felt like it was on fire. Superboy helped him up to his feet while Kid Flash did the same for Artemis. As Robin regained his bearings, he finally caught sight of the Leaguers not too far away. _Batman_. "... Did we win?"

"At a cost," Aqualad replied gravely, and the Team simultaneously looked up to watch Zatanna floating above them, wearing the infamous Helmet of Fate. Robin felt his throat tighten. Oh no...

Zatara joined them, glaring at Dr. Fate. "Fate!" He shouted, but then seemed to rethink screaming at such a powerful magician. "...Great Nabu, release my daughter."

Fate simply stared, replying with, "No." Robin narrowed his eyes. "Witnesses have been these last past hours... The world needs Doctor Fate.

And the girl's natural affinities for the mystic arts make her the perfect candidate."

"You can't do that!" Artemis argued.

"She has her own life to live!" Robin shouted, angry. He should have been awake during the fight! Maybe if he had been, he could have prevented this. If anyone should have put on the helmet, it should have been _him_. It wasn't like he was very useful anyways, and if it meant letting someone else live their life, he would have done it without any second thoughts.

"Kent would never allow you-"

"Kent Nelson did object, strenuously, so I released his spirit to the afterlife. He is gone."

After several seconds of heavy silence, Zatara rose his arms. "Take me instead," he said softly. "My skills are already at their peak, my body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strength of you power."

"All true... but if I remove the helmet, what guarantee have I that you will don it?"

"My word." Zatara then chanted an incantation which apparently meant something important, because Fate slowly came to the ground and removed the helmet. Immediately, his uniform disappeared, leaving only Zatanna behind. The magician girl opened her eyes and found her father's face, and her features lit up with recognition. "Dad!"

"Zatanna!" Zatara pulled his daughter into a hug, and whispered something for her to hear only. He then planted a fatherly kiss on her forehead, taking the helmet from her gently. "Take care of my girl," he told Batman, who nodded.

"You have my word."

"No, please!" Zatanna cried as her father brought the helmet above his head. "It was my fault! Dad, don't-" the helmet was swiftly lowered over his face. " _DAD_!"

Fate's costume appeared on Zatara's body, and the magician's eyes were now colder. "Leave these to the Fate," he ordered, eyeing the tied up villains. And with that he disappeared, bringing the criminals along with him.

Zatanna let out a choked noise before falling to her knees. The Team knelt down next to her and began to murmur words of comfort, but Robin stayed away.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, the Flying Graysons!"_

Robin swallowed thickly, and lowered his eyes. Even though he had gone through something similar to Zatanna, he couldn't find it in himself to comfort her. He didn't know how.

So useless...

xXx

"Master Dick," Alfred greeted as Robin stepped out of the Zeta Tube. "Thanks heavens..."

Dick peeled his mask off just as the Tube announced the arrival of his mentor. A bright smile worked its way onto his face as he looked at the elderly butler. "I was worried about you too, Alfred."

"Worried doesn't even begin to-"he stopped. "Sir?" He blinked at Batman, who was staring at Dick with an unreadable expression. Alfred seemed to have come to a realization, for he cleared his throat and began to move towards the staircase. "When you are done down here, I have cookies ready upstairs if you are wanting a snack while you wait for dinner." And with that, he left.

"Are you okay?" Batman asked the second Alfred disappeared through the door.

Dick slowly nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"... Physically _and_ emotionally?"

A blink. "Well, uh, I'm not in any danger of having a panic attack, if that's what you're wondering."

"... Good." He took his cowl off. Dick caught sight of the distant look in his eyes, and tilted his head. Was there something wrong?

"Are _you_ okay?"

"... Yes, now that I don't have to worry over your safety," he paused, and studied Dick for a moment. "Well, not as much, anyways."

Dick smiled. "Me too. Earlier, I thought you were..." he swallowed, smile fading away. "Gone."

Bruce's eyes flashed with an unreadable emotion, and he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Failsafe?"

Dick nodded. "Yeah. Today has been filled with a lot of unwanted memor-" he stopped short, and suddenly, the dream he experienced when Klarion knocked him out came back to him.

"Dick?"

Should he tell him? The dream Deathstroke told him that he was to destroy the League, and as terrifying as that was, it was too serious for him to keep secret from Bruce. But then again, Dick looked far too young in his dream. He never trained with Deathstroke when he was that small, that only started just a couple of months before he escaped from Cadmus. What he saw was probably just a dream, nothing more.

"Er, sorry. My mind went somewhere else," he said apologetically. "I think I need something to eat."

Bruce's eyes lit up immediately, just like he predicted. Both Bruce and Alfred hated that he hardly ate a thing, and were always trying to find a way to get him to eat without actually forcing him to. The two of them both became overly enthusiastic whenever Dick actually _wanted_ to eat food, and frankly, Dick used that to his advantage whenever he wanted to avoid certain subjects. It worked without fail so far, but Dick knew that it was only a matter of time before they caught on.

Today was not that day. "Well, Alfred's making dinner, and we have some cookies waiting for us upstairs. Why don't we head up now?" Bruce smiled and steered him towards the staircase. Dick allowed him to, knowing that being able to do so would help his guardian relax. Today had been a trying day, for both of them.

And if being fatherly helped Bruce calm down, then how could he possibly complain?

xXx

 **AN: *squeals excitedly* Guys, we're no where near the end of the book, but we are** ** _so_** **close to my favorite part, and I am way too excited about it for it to be healthy! All of the things I have planned will finally conclude, and it makes me unexplainably happy.**

 **That is all. Thanks for your comments and votes from last chapter! See you next time!**


	19. Superhero Family Squad

"Surprise!" Dick shouted along with everyone else as Wally finally stepped into the room. A grin was plastered onto his face; he was excited for his friend, and he and the Team did everything they could to make sure that Wally had the best party ever.

Wally gasped dramatically. "What? Oh, you guys shouldn't have!" He exclaimed, his expression too fake for him to be able to claim that he didn't see it coming.

"Right, it's not like you've been hinting for days, or anything," Dick said sarcastically, receiving a sheepish grin from his redheaded friend.

"Shush," Wally stuck his tongue out before joining them at the table.

M'gann threw a party hat on the birthday boy's head the minute he sat down, and waved her hand at the food on the table. "We made two cakes," she announced with a warm smile.

The speedster's grin widened. "Awesome! But what will you guys eat?"

Dick rolled his eyes while M'gann giggled. "We'll split the cupcake." She gestured to the birthday cake again. "Now make a wish."

"Way ahead of you," Wally said flirtatiously before taking a deep breath and blowing out the lit candles. Dick refrained from face palming at his friend's behavior. Was Wally seriously blind to the obvious alien couple in the room? How could he be that oblivious?!

After the cake was cut, the party continued. The present Leaguers mingled with the teens, keeping up conversations with even the anti-social Connor, M'gann continued to avoid Wally's advances, and Artemis kept up her unhappy scowling. Eventually, Dick ended up alone by the snack table, listening to the chitchat from a distance while trying to figure out what to do. He wasn't kidding when he told Bruce that he didn't know how to behave at a party. He had no desire to be in such an alien environment, but it was for _Wally_ \- his best friend. If his presence made the speedster happy, then he would stay... even if he was being mostly ignored by said redhead.

"You okay?"

Dick was pulled out of his thoughts as Zatanna held a plate of cake in front of his face. "I should be asking you the same thing," he said as he accepted the food. "Are you settling in okay?"

"Yeah... It's just like home..."

He took that as a no. Well, he knew how adjusting to a new environment was like. He was certain that Zatanna needed someone to lighten the mood. "I know this is all very new and intimidating. It scared me when I first came here too. But I promise you... someday, you'll get used to watching Wally eat." He and Zatanna looked over their shoulders just in time to witness Wally shove a giant slice of cake into his mouth, making disgusting noises as he almost inhaled it whole. Zatanna giggled.

Artemis appeared next to them, eyeing Wally as well. "Think we should tell him?" Dick glanced back again and saw that Artemis was referring to another pointless attempt Wally was making to get with M'gann.

Dick winced, feeling secondhand embarrassment from his friend. If nobody told him about the situation, then he would only embarrass himself further. "He _is_ the only one who doesn't know."

Artemis smirked, pleased with his subtle consent. "Then please, allow me." She then strode over to Wally confidentially, sitting down on a couch behind him and leaning forward to whisper something in his ear. The redhead glanced at her in surprise, then looked over to M'gann was holding up a slice of cake to Connor's lips.

His face fell. "Aw man..."

Dick took a step towards him, but halted in his tracks when his mentor's voice sounded throughout the room. "Attention Team! Suit up- polar stealth. Mission briefing in five."

Or not. Dick glanced at Wally again and saw that his crestfallen expression morphed into a serious one; the hero face. Right, Mission first, feelings later. One of the biggest rules in the their world.

Dick sighed and spun around, moving towards the locker room to grab his spare uniform.

xXx

"Where's Flash?" Kid Flash asked the Batman on the big screen in front of them. Now that Robin thought about it, both of the Leaguers at the party were not present anymore.

 _"Flash and Red Tornado already have their assignments."_ Batman said smoothly. _"A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast."_ Robin frowned at this; he remembered seeing snow outside back in Gotham, and sure, there was tons of it, but he never thought it was that bad. _"Satellite imagery has detected five flying Ice Fortresses, source unknown, which seem to be responsible and must be stopped."_

Wally huffed. "Well can't the Watchtower blow them out of the sky or something?"

Zatanna glanced at Robin. "What's a Watchtower?"

Robin mentally groaned while Batman let out an irritated sigh. It was a miracle that KF was able to keep his own identity a secret from the public for so long. Seriously, everyone knew not to talk about the Watchtower. _"The League's orbiting headquarters is_ _ **not**_ _weaponized. And with both Green Lanterns off world, I need all hands on deck."_

Wait a second. _All_ hands? As in... the Team too?! "Does that mean what I think it means?" He asked excitedly, beaming up at his mentor. "The League _and_ the Team fighting side by side?"

"Woah, really?" Wally breathed.

Batman's expression changed minutely, an unseen sign of confirmation _. "Superboy, use the Super Cycle to rendezvous with the Batplane at Ice Fortress One. You'll drop off Robin and Aqualad, then continue with Wolf to meet up with Black Canary and Red Tornado at Ice Fortress Two. Miss Martian, Artemis, and Zatanna, take the bioship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at Ice Fortress Three. Other Leaguers will deal with Ice Fortresses Four and Five. Sending all coordinates now."_

Robin nodded to himself, content with his team. While he certainly thought of Aqualad as a rival figure, he knew that chances were that they would be able to work together just fine. Plus, they had Batman on their team. If Robin was famous for anything, it would be for being part of the Dynamic Duo- two partners who could communicate effectively without the usage of words. They would be just fine in the field.

KF spoke up, "Uh... Batman? I think you skipped-"

Robin scoffed. As if Batman could forget about anything...

 _"Kid Flash. A young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant. With all conventional air traffic grounded by the storm, you'll need to pick up the donor heart in Boston and run the 3,000 miles across country."_

Wally's face fell again, all traces of his earlier excitement extinguishing immediately. "Who is this girl?" He blurted out.

Batman's expression remained neutral. _"Does it matter?"_

"No, of course not... but can't we Zeta-"

"Zeta Tubes are offline," Robin reminded him, fighting to keep his expression as stoic as his mentor's. He had a good idea of what was going on. Wally didn't know it, but he was being tested. The girl who needed the transplant was all over the news; apparently she was a queen from another country. Sure, Wally was missing out on working with the League, but he was one step closer to _joining_ them if he did everything right. It was very exciting, but Robin knew that he couldn't reveal anything. So, he plastered the most apologetic expression on his face that he could manage, and said, "Sorry."

KF smiled, but it was obviously forced. "Right. How can I say no?"

xXx

"Go, go!" Superboy shouted as a series of powerful ice cubes were shot at the Super Cycle, barely missing the passengers inside.

As soon as he and Aqualad exited the vehicle, Robin swung on top of an icicle cannon using his grapple gun, leaving a couple of explosives behind as he back flipped off. The moment his feet touched the ground the explosives went off, and pieces of the cannon went flying in all directions. There was no time to pat himself on the back as he was forced to cartwheel to the side to avoid being hit by the large chunks of ice being fired. Robin narrowed hi eyes and backed up, throwing birdarangs in the direction of the ice weapons as he moved.

And suddenly, his back hit a solid object.

Robin slowly turned around, eyes widening as he was met with the face of an ice turret. He took a step backwards, but the sound of the weapon firing meant that he was close to an icy death.

"Duck!" A familiar voice commanded, and he immediately obeyed. The whizz of a small weapon was heard over his head, which sliced into the chunks of ice before embedding itself into the weapon. Robin was suddenly yanked backwards, and he was barely able to recognize Batman's uniform before the turret exploded in front of them.

"Well... this has been a blast," Robin joked, stepping back to throw another birdarang at a cannon behind his mentor. Batman's fingers twitched in response to the comment, a sign of amusement that Robin had only jut started picking up on.

"Our goal is to disarm as many of these weapons as possible so that we can safely destroy this fortress." Robin tilted his head. 'Safely' and 'destroy' didn't seem like they should be in the same sentence. "The metas are better suited for disarming the turrets, so you and I will work on another task. I have marked five locations on your holo glove's map. Distribute your heavy explosives at these locations as quickly as possible. I will do the same after telling the others to clear the area."

"Right, right. I'll meet you back here." Robin gave him a mock salute before darting in the opposite direction, pulling out his map immediately. "Let's see... Bingo!" He came to a stop in front of a blank wall. He inspected it carefully; he expected something more... Wait. Either he had one if the strangest headaches ever, or the buzzing in his head was because of nearby technology. Robin brought his hand up to the wall and pressed down. A portion of the surface followed his hand forward almost like a button, and a door opened to reveal a hidden panel. "Secret compartment? Nice. Still has nothing on the Bat Cave." He then planted a few of his heavy hitter explosives on the panel's front, and took his leave.

The next three panels were similarly hidden away, either in the walls or in the floor. Robin was attaching explosives to the very last one when a peculiar sound made him pause. Something sounded like it was flying through the air-

Pain blossomed in Robin's shoulder just as he made the decision to roll to safety. He grit his teeth as he grabbed at his stinging shoulder, unsurprised as his hand drew back covered in blood. Great.

"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry. Gotta break Bat's rule," Robin muttered, focusing on the inner working of the icicle cannon. Within seconds, the firing of ice was cut off as the turret powered down. His breath appeared in front of him as he let out a sigh of relief, but his shoulder still throbbed. "Mission first, wound later," he told himself as he returned to the panel. Once he was done planting the explosives, all he had left was to return to Batman.

So, he began his short journey to the other side of the fortress, only stopping to rearrange his uniform so that it didn't look like he was injured. Knowing Batman though... he would spot it a mile away.

"You're late," was the first thing the man said when he was within hearing range.

"There wasn't a time limit," he countered, and Batman's eyes narrowed. He smiled sheepishly. "Uh... weather delay?"

" _Robin_."

"Shouldn't we be getting off of this fortress? We need to detonate the explosives!"

"...We'll discuss this later. Aqualad, Aquaman, and the Flash have already evacuated. We'll be leaving via the Batplane."

Robin nodded and made his way over to the jet. "I still think 'Batwing' is a cooler name. Just saying."

"You're in a good mood," Batman noted as they boarded.

"I like working with the League." He shrugged. "Problem?"

"... No." Batman turned away. "Not at all." Robin grinned as the Batplane lifted into the air. When they were at a far enough distance, Batman and him simultaneously pressed the detonation buttons on their belts. Several explosions rocked the fortress before it tilted on its side and began to descend. "My next stop is Belle Reve. Hugo Strange must have some clue to what's been going on today." He glanced down at his protege. "Let's get you to warmer grounds first, so that another Leaguer can dress your shoulder wound."

Robin froze in his tracks, another sheepish smile forming on his face. "Maybe you _are_ the World's Greatest Detective..."

Batman's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly, but he didn't reply.

xXx

"This is dumb," Connor grumbled as the Team dragged their sleeping bags into the living room.

M'gann beamed at him. "I think it was a good idea! I always wanted to have a sleepover. And this is a great way to continue celebrating Wally's birthday!"

"My dad would've had a stroke if he knew I was sleeping in the same room as boys," Zatanna commented, a sad smile on her face.

Artemis snorted. "Yeah, right. We're a bunch of goody-two-shoed kid heroes. What kind of trouble does he think we can get into, exactly?"

"We _could_ start playing strip poker," Dick announced, snickering. "And I'd totally beat all of you too."

"Whoa, hang on, are you saying that you're better at poker than me?!" Wally exclaimed. "Dude, did you forget that I'm a total genius? The smarter you are, the harder it is for you to be beat at poker. And besides, do you even know _how_ to play?"

Dick scoffed. "You excel at science, but I wouldn't call you a genius. My math skills would ensure a smooth victory for me."

"Is that a challenge?!"

"We are not playing strip poker," Artemis said, rubbing her temples. "Do you have any idea how dead we would all be if our mentors caught us?"

Kaldur nodded. "My King would be most disappointed in me, as would your mentors be with you. We should participate in a more innocent game."

"Oh, oh! Let's play spin the bottle!" Wally exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down where he sat.

"Ew, no thanks. The only person worth kissing in this room is Kaldur, and that's because he's the only single gentleman."

Kaldur cleared his throat, looking away.

Dick put a hand over his heart in false offense. "Et moi?"

"I'd kiss Robin," Zatanna said with a shrug. "He's cute."

"... Yeah, I guess he's kinda cute," Artemis said offhandedly. "But way too immature."

"...Fair enough," Dick said with a small huff. "But I think cute isn't the right word. Maybe something along the lines of-"

"Let's play truth or dare!" M'gann interrupted, eyes sparkling. "I always wanted to, like in the movies!"

"No," Zatanna said quickly, shaking her head. "With Wally here, that game could get bad fast. You can get dared to do _anything_. No way am I doing that!"

"Let's just watch a movie." Connor crossed his arms.

"The most innocent movie possible," Kaldur agreed. "Perhaps a children's movie?"

"Hm... Disney?" Wally suggested.

"You mean the lame cartoons that are mainly about stuck up princesses who fall in love before their twenties? Ha, pass," Artemis shook her head.

"There are cool Disney movies!" Wally argued, then turned to look at Dick. "Rob, help me out here."

Dick gave him a confused look. "How? I've never watched a Disney movie."

Wally, Artemis, and Zatanna immediately swerved their heads around to stare at him. Connor and Kaldur only nodded at his words. "Most of us are either not human, Cadmus experiments, or both," M'gann reminded the shocked three. "I mean, we could watch human movies in Mars, but I don't think you could in Cadmus."

"In Atlantis, we prefer theatre as a form of entertainment. We have no use for most technologies underwater."

Connor frowned. "I was asleep during my time at Cadmus. I only know a little about what it was like there." He turned to look at Dick questionably.

All of a sudden, the spotlight was on him. "Uh..." he scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'm probably not the best guy to ask. I was a special case, remember?"

The others nodded in acceptance, and moved on with the conversation. "Hey did you guys hear that there's going to be a Batman vs Superman movie? I know it's going to look totally unrealistic, but we should all go watch it when it comes out," Wally said cheerfully.

Artemis scoffed. "Why would we watch that? It's obvious who would win in that fight. Superman is more than capable of breaking every bone in Batman's body. The fight would be over in minutes."

Dick threw his head back and laughed. "The man that can be killed by a glowing rock is going to take down the World's Greatest Detective? Right, right."

Connor narrowed his eyes at the smug acrobat. "You think Batman can beat Superman?"

Dick rose his eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. Of course he can. Batman already made dozens of plans just in case he ever needed to take Superman down. Supes wouldn't ever be able to stand a chance."

Connor opened his mouth to make a snappy retort, but was cut off by Wally. "Wait. Are you telling me that Batman uses up his spare time by coming up with scenarios where he would have to take down Superman?"

"Yep," Dick confirmed, popping the 'p' sound. "The rest of the League too. I decided to play it safe and start with you guys before making my way up to the JLA."

"You're doing it too?!"

"Uh huh. Batman's paranoia kind of rubbed off on me." He shrugged. "On the bright side, I know what to do if any of you decides to turn traitor."

"That's insane." Artemis shook her head. "And what are we supposed to do if _you_ turn traitor?"

His smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm only human. Have Superboy snap my neck or something. Problem solved."

Wally sucked in a sharp breath. "Don't say that, dude. Just _don't._ "

Dick turned to look at him, eyes locking with his. "I'm serious. If I ever turn traitor, kill me."

Everyone went deadly silent as Wally and Dick continued to stare each other down. Finally, the speedster looked away. "Let's watch that movie, guys."

Dick sighed and turned away, knowing that his friend would never do such a thing. A strong hand fell onto his shoulder suddenly, and he glanced up to see Kaldur giving him a stern look. "After our meeting with Batman and Roy, I believe I accidentally gave you a fear of harboring hidden programming," he said quietly so that no one else could hear.

Dick nodded slowly, though it was mostly untrue. He had a fear of having dangerous programming ever since his first mission with the Team, thanks. But maybe if Kaldur thought it was because of him, he would agree to what Wally couldn't do. "I can't risk hurting anyone, Kal. If I hurt any of you..." he bit his lip. "If something like that ever happens, don't let me become his puppet. I need to be taken out of the equation as soon as possible, or Deathstroke will have me do terrible things."

Kaldur glanced behind him, and Dick noticed that the rest of the Team was silently watching their exchange. Though they couldn't hear them due to the distance between them, they probably had a good idea of what they were talking about. "I am hesitant to agree to your demands. What if there is a chance that we can bring you, the real you, back?"

"You can't risk it. Kalur... You're the only person on this Team who can do it. The Justice League won't, not with Batman around."

"Perhaps-"

"There is no 'perhaps,'" he hissed lowly. "I refuse to have to do Deathstroke's bidding. If you don't kill me, he'll use me to kill others. It's either me or them."

Kaldur sighed, but nodded. "I... I do not desire to, but I will if that is your wish." His expression was unusually sad.

"Promise?"

The Atlantean hesitated. Dick saw a flicker of grief cross his eyes before Kaldur nodded once again. "I swear it." He looked away. "But I also promise you that I will do everything in my power to stop that potential scenario from occurring. Deathstroke will have to go through the entire Team and the Justice League to get to you, but I will fight the hardest."

Dick smiled in relief. There, now he had one less thing to worry about. "Thanks Kal. That means a lot to me."

Kaldur smiled sadly. "It would pain me to have to keep my promise. I have grown close to the members of this Team, including you. There is a saying that mentions being brothers in all but blood. I did not truly understand this before, but I certainly do now. This Team is my family, and you are my brother, Robin." His gaze softened. "And as my youngest brother, I feel as though I am slightly more protective over you than the rest. Please, stay safe. It is not my wish to lose a member of this family."

"I..." Dick's mouth fell open. "Kaldur, I promise _you_ that I'll do my best to stay out of trouble. You're right, we are a family..." he closed his eyes. "And that's why I can't lose you guys."

Kaldur smiled and they both turned to look at the Team. Dick was slightly startled when he saw tears in the girls' eyes. "Is everything okay?" Kal asked, alarmed.

"I was listening, and had M'gann project my thoughts to the rest of the Team," Connor admitted, eyeing Dick strangely. "I would apologize, but I think we all needed to hear that." **(AN: Connor: "sorrynotsorry" xD)**

M'gann sniffed and threw her arms around both Kaldur and Dick. "We did... And I think now would be a great time for our first family group hug."

A few seconds later, Dick found himself surrounded at all sides. It was slightly claustrophobic, but it was also... nice. M'gann was right; they all needed that.

"... I think we should watch Lion King," Wally suddenly said, ruining the moment.

"I want to watch Frozen!" M'gann argued.

"What part of no stuck up princesses do you not understand?" Artemis asked with a glare.

"Hey, Frozen isn't like that!" Zatanna defended. "It's actually cute."

"Ugh, don't make me puke," Wally mumbled.

"I have heard great things about the Little Mermaid," Kaldur put in.

"Yeah... You don't want to watch it just because it's mainly underwater?"

Dick grinned and shook his head as his friends continued to argue. Well, some things would never change...

Hopefully.

xXx

 **AN: Guess who finally returned from London? Meee! I wrote out this chapter during my stay in the UK, so if my language seems a little off in this chapter, it's because my brain absorbed some of their phrases. Hopefully nothing looks too different. I doubt you even noticed. ^^**

 **Anyways, I wanted to update everyone on how many chapters are left of this book. As of now, there are ten (not counting this one). That number might go up just a bit as I write everything out, but that's a close estimate. Also, we're almost done with season one! After I run out of episodes, the chapters will only contain pure original work. :D**

 **That's it, ladies and gentlemen (do I have any male readers? :o). See you next chapter!**


	20. Birth of a Second Traitor

"You're cheating!"

"You can't cheat at Monopoly."

"Says the business man's son." Wally muttered under his breath as he slid his character to the other side of the board. "You own like half of the buildings, and all I have is a railroad. This sucks." He picked up a chance card and read it, eye twitching. "Oh, and now I have to pay my car insurance bill. Just my luck."

Dick grinned and rolled the dice. "It's not my fault that I'm a pro at this game. Maybe if you weren't so distracted by looking for Artemis, you wouldn't be losing so badly."

The older teen had spent the entire hour they had been there casually looking around for the blonde archer. Dick only knew he was keeping an eye out for Artemis, because every time someone entered the room, he would slump over after he caught sight of their faces. After so many people came and went, Dick could only assume who he was waiting for.

And he was totally right.

Wally's face became as red as his hair. " _What_?! I am not looking for Artemis! I'm just, uh, admiring the framework of the Cave. I haven't really looked at it in a while, and-" he noticed Dick's unimpressed look, and he scowled. "I am _so_ tracted right now, I'll have you know!"

Dick actually snorted at that. "Tracted? Is that supposed to be the opposite of distracted?"

"Uh, duh! See, you're not the only one with the mad English skills." He watched as Dick bought yet another property, and he groaned. "I don't know why I thought playing monopoly with you would be a good idea. You're better than me at _everything_."

"Except races," Dick pointed out with a grin. "If you haven't noticed, I have absolutely no powers." He passed go and collected the usual two hundred dollars, which only added onto Wally's frustration.

 **"Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian, report for mission briefing."** Batman's voice came over the Cave's speakers, and Dick hopped up to his feet.

"Saved by the bell. Next time, I'll make sure that you go bankrupt," he teased as Wally stood as well.

"I hate you," Wally grumbled as he moved past him. "You're my best pal and all, but I hate you so _much."_

Dick only snickered.

xXx

"Rumaan Harjavti is the democratically elected President of Qurac," Batman told the Team as they watched news footage featuring the man shaking hands with Bruce Wayne. Dick remembered when that had happened; he had been so bored when he was stuck at home with Alfred. "Harjavti has been praised as a fair, wise leader. A humanitarian."

Kid Flash snickered quietly and leant towards Robin. "Suuure. Any friend of Bruce Wayne's..." he whispered with a smirk, and Robin fought hard to keep a stoic expression.

Batman continued as though he didn't hear the comment, but Robin would bet his inheritance that he did. "But five days ago, Harjavti allied himself the dictator of the neighboring nation of Bialya, Queen Bee."

Robin scowled. Oh yeah, he remembered her. She was the one who had her minion mind wipe him and the Team, and she also indirectly made Robin convert back to his Renegade persona, which was not a fun time.

Superboy grunted, and Robin could tell they shared the same feelings. "Bialya, huh? Not a big fan."

"Few are," Batman responded. "But Harjavti suddenly backed Queen Bee's baseless claim that Qurac and Bialya were one nation in ancient times, and has announced that the countries will unify in two days at a ceremony in Qurac."

On the newscast, Harjavti spoke, _"After the ceremony, I will step down as President so that our rightful monarch, Queen Bee, may rule."_

Batman swiped the tab away, and a new one appeared that showed Queen Bee addressing her audience, _"I laud president Harjavti for unifying our peoples and I will gladly come to Qurac to be crowned sole leader of our nation."_

"And the Quracies are OK with this?" KF asked in disbelief. Robin shared his puzzlement; the citizens of Qurac wouldn't automatically accept this radical change in their government. And didn't a President have limited power? It didn't seem like he had the ability to just hand over an entire country. Something was off about this picture.

"Hardly," Batman answered, and brought up a new screen, this one displaying Quracies protesting in the streets. "They're well aware of the brutality of Queen Bee's regime, but Harjavti has censored the press, silenced all legitimate protesting and invited the Bialyan military into his country, to enforce Martial Law."

Robin shook his head fractionally; this didn't add up. "Queen Bee has to be controlling Harjavti. Doesn't she have the power to enthrall most men?" That was the only explanation he could come up with. Harjavti was a democrat, so it seemed highly unlikely that he would accept Bee's reign out of his own free will.

Batman studied him carefully, and Robin paused when he realized that he didn't know about Queen Bee's abilities before today. Huh. "And some women," the Bat finally answered. "But not long distance, and we have confirmation that she hasn't left Bialya. Something else is at work here. Find out what." He focused his gaze on his protege. "Robin, you're team leader."

And just like that, Robin's good mood completely evaporated. What did he mean, Team leader?!

Kid Flash, not sensing his sudden change in mood, grinned. "Promotion, sweet!" He rose his hand for a high five, but Robin ignored it.

"Me? What about Aqualad?" He asked, a familiar ball of dread forming in his stomach. The last time he was team leader...

"Busy helping Aqualad," Batman said, not missing a beat. What was the deal with him? He _knew_ about Robin's fear of leading. "You're the next logical choice." Ah, there it was. He nearly forgot that Batman and Bruce were two totally different people. Bruce cared about his feelings. Batman, for the most part, did not.

"...Great," he mumbled, frowning at the ground. Of course he was the most logical choice; he was second in command. He used to love that title, but now it just left a bitter taste in his mouth.

All he could do was hope that he didn't screw this mission up.

xXx

"We're right above the Qurac-Bialyan border," Robin announced, eyeing the holographic map his glove produced.

"A border that the Bialyans are in the process of ignoring." KF grumbled as they watched a couple of Bialyan tanks roll over barbed wired fences.

"There's no opposition," Superboy noted. "I guess Harjavti really is in bed with Bialya."

"I really don't expect opposition here; it's an animal sanctuary," Robin pointed out, reading the information on his holo screen.

Miss Martian stole a glimpse of the screen as well, and gasped. "The _Logan_ Animal Sanctuary?"

Robin looked over at her, surprised. "You've heard of it?" His glove didn't mark the sanctuary as an important location or anything, so how was M'gann of all people familiar with it?

"Guys," Kid interrupted. "Tanks have caused a stamped. There are civilians in harms way!"

Superboy grunted in acknowledgment. "I see them, a woman and a small boy."

"We have to help them!" Miss M exclaimed, sending Robin a worried look. "They could die!"

A part of Robin wanted to help them, but he pushed those feelings away. Mission first. "We're way off mission here." He paused, remembering something. Sure, Batman and Deathstroke would ignore the civilians without much thought, but Robin _wasn't_ going to become either of them. He was his own hero now. "Deploy," he ordered. "But stealth mode. If the Bialyans know we hit them, this becomes an international incident." He waited for his teammates' nods of understanding before he stood. "Open the hatch."

Minutes later, he found himself clinging onto Wally's back as they zipped through the squadron of tanks. While his teammates destroyed the enemies tanks, Robin could only hang on tight and enjoy the show. Using any of his weapons would be a dead giveaway, and his ability to destroy things that used any kind of technology wasn't strong enough to take down monstrous tanks.

Needless to say, he was more than relieved when the family was rescued and he could finally put his feet on the ground. "Are you alright?" The speedster asked the two.

The boy studied Wally's face for a minute, then turned his attention to Robin. After another split second, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Mom! Mom! Mom! We were just saved by Robin _and_ Kid Flash!" He said excitedly, staring at the two heroes in awe. Robin felt his face heat up; he still wasn't used to people being able to recognize him so easily.

"Well, Superboy and Miss Martian helped too," KF said casually, but Robin could tell that he liked the attention. Robin could understand the feeling; he _liked_ having a fan.

"We diverted the Bialyans around the sanctuary," he told the woman. "You should be safe now."

The woman obviously didn't hold them in the same light as her son did, if her unimpressed expression was anything to go by. "You might have made things worse. Bialyan border crossings are a way of life here. Usually they wreck a few fences and move on, but engaging them might have made us a target." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Mom... uncool," the boy complained.

His mother sighed. "I'm sorry, I should be thanking you," she said, though she still didn't sound very grateful. "This is my son, Garfield. I'm-"

"Marie Logan!" M'gann finished, a delighted twinkle in her eyes. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you in person!"

Robin was again bewildered by his friend's knowledge on the Logans. Did he miss something?

Marie simply ignored the martian's exclamation, and strode over to a limping wildebeest. She frowned at it sadly, and stroked its back like it was a beloved pet. "The oryx is sick. And I think you injured this wildebeest."

"Uh... Sorry?" Superboy sounded as confused as Robin felt.

"I suppose it was unavoidable," Marie said, though her voice held some annoyance. "But both need to go to our clinic."

"The boys can do that," Miss M said quickly. "You and I can, um, fix your fences!"

Wait. Hold the phone, when did this turn into a family bonding session with the Logans? "That's not exactly our-" he protested, but was cut short.

"Robin," M'gann said pleadingly, sending him waves of her mixed emotions. Desperation, a desire to impress... Robin frowned and cut the connection. He knew all to well what it was like to desperately want to impress a role model, but...

"Please mom?" Garfield asked his mother, tugging on her hands.

"...Fine," she and Robin finally agreed.

"Yes!" M'gann and Garfield cheered happily.

 _"Thank you so much, Robin."_ The Martian told him separately through the mind link. "You have no idea how much this means to me!"

"...Just don't tell Batman about this," he thought begrudgingly, turning away and ignoring the waves of happiness his friend sent him in return.

Damn it, he was such a softy.

xXx

"Ah! Get it off!"

Robin turned his head just in time to see a greenish brown monkey snatch Kid Flash's candy bar, and then the animal hopped away to the safety of Garfield's shoulder. "It's okay!" Gar said with a delighted laugh. "Meet monkey."

"Good name." Superboy eyed the creature with disgust. "But I hate monkeys." Monkey let out a shriek and his newly acquired chocolate bar at Superboy's face, and the clone growled in warning.

Robin couldn't help but laugh at his friend's expression. "Looks like Monkey hates Superboys."

KF smirked. "Dude, be glad he onky threw a candy bar." He joked as Gar led the three of them into his house.

"So, pretty weird about Miss Martian and my mom, huh?" Garfield asked as Robin and Kid Flash sat themselves down on two of the open seats in the living room.

Superboy rose his eyebrows in question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she looks _exactly_ like Marie. Except, you know, greener."

"She does?" Wally questioned, sharing a glance with Robin.

"Well yeah, especially back when Mom was a TV star in 'Hello Megan!'"

KF stared at him. "Wait... Hello Megan is a TV show?"

Robin was lost as well. "I thought it was just something she said all the time."

"Yeah, _on_ the TV show." Now Garfield sounded confused as well. "It was way before we were born, it only has one season. You can't even find it online." He frowned at the clutter of tapes held under his television. "I know my mom has a tape somewhere..." He knelt down besides the television set, and started to search the tapes for the right one. Soon enough, Gar emerged from his place, a proud smile on his face as he help up the tape. "Hello Megan! the pilot episode." He blew away the collection of dust on its surface before popping it into the VCR.

"Whoa, you still have VHS," Wally commented.

"Wait," Superboy suddenly said, angling his ear towards the window. "...I hear an aircraft headed this way." Without another word, he raced out of the house. Wally gave Robin a startled look before doing the same, leaving him alone with Garfield.

He stood, giving the kid the sternest look he could muster. It was difficult; he wasn't used to being leader, but being the _adult_ was a totally different situation. "Gar, stay put," he ordered flatly before running after his teammates. When he came out to the front porch, he saw Superboy scanning the skies, and M'gann and Marie were finally returning.

"What is it?" Miss M asked, noticing their apprehension. The sound of two incoming airplanes answered her, and Marie's surprised gasp was drowned out by the sound of guns firing. Superboy and Miss Martian both covered for her immediately.

"Where's my son?!" Marie demanded once the stream of bullets died out.

"It's okay, I ordered him to stay inside," Robin reassured.

Instead of relaxing, she only tensed up even more. "He's eight, he doesn't _do_ orders."

To prove her point, the barn doors slid open, revealing the disobedient Garfield. "Mom! It's okay, I got the animals out!" Just then, one of the aircrafts swooped down low and fired a stream of bullets at the barn, which blown to bits almost immediately, and also managed to send Garfield flying. Miss Martian gasped and flew to the boy's aid, holding him close as she brought him back to safety. Gar's mother took him from her as soon as she touched the ground, staring at her son's unconscious form fearfully. The planes didn't halt their attacks, though, for the pilots obviously felt no remorse for what they have done. Miss Martian and Superboy shared a look before leaving the group to deal with them, vengeance heavy on their minds.

"I told you there would be consequences," Marie told Robin angrily, voice raw with emotion.

Robin stared at Garfield's unmoving form regretfully. If this boy died, Robin would hold himself responsible for the rest of his life. "Always," he murmured in response. There were _always_ consequences when he was leading. All he did was being death wherever he went. "Let's get him inside..."

xXx

"He's in shock," Marie informed him once they had hooked Garfield up to the necessary medical equipment. It was a good thing that Marie was a vet, or Gar wouldn't have been able to get the immediate care he needed. "He needs a blood transfusion now." She looked at Robin, then at Kid Flash, who was standing in the doorway silently. "Are either of you O negative?"

"No," Robin said softly.

"Sorry," was KF's response.

"Neither am I," she said regretfully. "It's the hardest to match. I kept a supply in the clinic..."

"I can run him to the nearest hospital," Kid suggested.

Robin shook his head. "The nearest hospital with this type of blood supply is half an hour away, even at your top speed. Longer by bioship."

"He doesn't have that much time. What's Superboy's blood type?" She asked hopefully.

Robin winced. "He's Kryptonian, and Miss Martian-"

"-might be able to help." Everyone turned to face Miss Martian, who was standing in the doorway behind Kid Flash. "My shape shifting occurs at the cellular level. I think I can morph my blood to match his."

"Please, try." Marie said desperately.

M'gann nodded firmly, a spark of determination in her eyes. "I'll need to concentrate. No distractions."

"Out! All of you out!" Marie ordered immediately, urging everyone to leave the room as quickly as possible. Robin was barely able to make it out the door before it slammed shut. He stared at it blankly, a familiar ache in his chest. Garfield was one of his few fans, and he totally failed him...

"Dude, come on." Wally gently tapped his shoulder to get his attention, and nodded towards the living room. Robin mechanically obeyed, sitting back down on the chair he had occupied before.

"And on top of all this, Harjavti steps down tomorrow. Subjecting all of Qurac to this danger." He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, the stress of everything suddenly weighing heavily on his shoulders. "KF, can you find a news station?"

"Sure, which remote is it?" He picked up two remotes and looked them over before trying one. The television turned on, and they were greeted by the theme song of the tape Gar put in earlier.

 _"Hello Megan!"_ On screen, a familiar redhead appeared, the theme song playing in the background. Startled, Superboy, Robin, and Kid Flash gathered around the television set, watching the freakishly familiar girl.

"...Maybe it's a coincidence?" Superboy said after a moment of shocked silence.

 _"Mom, I'm going to the library to study!" The show's Megan announced._

 _"Didn't you invite a certain someone to study_ _ **here**_ _?"_ The doorbell rang, and Megan slapped her forehead.

 _"Hello Megan!"_ The imaginary audience laughed in the background as the girl climbed down the remainder of the steps, and they cheered when she opened the door and greeted a male with shoulder length black hair. _"Connor!"_ She exclaimed as she stepped forward to embrace the male.

Superboy did not look amused, but KF certainly was. "Oh yeah, pure coincidence," he whispered to Robin.

"It's done," Miss M suddenly announced behind them, and Wally scrambled to turn the show off. "All we can do is wait."

The news finally turned on. _"My fellow Quracians,"_

"Is that Harjavti?" M'gann asked, coming closer to the television set.

 _"Queen Bee's rule is a gift to Qurac,"_ the President announced to his citizens.

"Hey, that guy in back!" Connor pointed to a bald man wearing a hood. "I know him."

Robin whipped out his holo glove and used it to zoom in on the man's face. Besides him, M'gann stiffened. "It's Psimon, the physic we fought the last time we were in Bialya. If he was working for her then, he must be controlling Harjavti for her now!"

KF ran a hand over his face warily. "I still remember the headache I got when he brain blasted us."

Robin studied Psimon's face. He failed Garfield, but he wasn't about to let an entire country down. "We have to get Harjavti away from him." He deactivated his holo glove and squared his shoulders.

Marie entered the room. "I think it worked, Garfield's stable."

Robin nodded stiffly. "Good, because we have our mission." He moved his eyes between his three teammates slowly. "No more distractions. We have to end this, now."

xXx

Robin thoroughly scanned the room from the safety of an air vent, searching for any sign of Psimon. Not seeing him, Robin nodded at his teammates. _"Harjavti's alone."_ He told them as he removed the cover, before jumping down to the floor below. Not waiting for his friends, Robin marched over to the dazed looking Harjavti, who looked at him through misty eyes. "Where's my daughter?" He groaned and brought his fingers to his temple. "Where's Psimon?"

"Forget him. Let's get you out of here."

The two doors leading to the room suddenly burst opened, and intimidating black and red weapons were pointed at the heroes from all directions. A man wearing a military uniform came in after his men, smirking. "Well well, American heroes, here to assassinate the President." Robin gave him a steely glare. "Such a shame we arrived to late to stop them."

 _"Those are Apokoliptian weapons,"_ Superboy told them with a mental growl.

Robin nodded. _"I thought so. They feel different than most technological weapons."_ The buzzing in his head felt... cold, if that was possible. _"These guys will use these weapons to kill Harjavti, we get blamed, and Queen Bee gets to rule Qurac!"_

 _"I found Psimon!"_ The invisible Miss Martian suddenly announced, and Robin could feel her mental presence moving away from them.

 _"Wait!"_ Robin called, but was ignored.

 _"I'll get her,"_ Superboy said gruffly, but Robin shook his head minutely.

 _"No. The mission is Harjavti."_ And they couldn't stray away from that mission a second time.

 _"What's our plan?"_ KF asked, looking at him from the corner of his eye.

 _"... I want to try something."_ He closed his eyes, concentrating on the strange feeling in his head, and the cloud of emotions that threatened to suffocate him. His overwhelming disappointment with himself stood out the most, and all of his past failures came together in a blob of memories. Not being able to fight against the tanks, being helpless while Gar was dying right in front of him, not having enough control to stop M'gann from disobeying his orders and running off...

His mind wondered.

Being helpless while his mentor was shot down in space, not going back to save Kaldur, sacrificing Connor, killing Wally _and_ himself in a pointless attempt to destroy the mother ship...

Something snapped.

The guns that the soldiers were holding suddenly exploded in their hands, catching them off guard. Wally and Superboy took advantage of their surprise by quickly taking them out one by one. While they did that, Robin sped forward and grabbed the commanded by the front of his uniform, slamming his back against the nearest wall. The man's eyes flashed fearfully, and Robin narrowed his own in disgust. "I should kill you for everything that you've done," he said lowly. "But count yourself lucky that I was taught not to." He then delivered a punch to his temple, feeling great satisfaction when he slumped onto the ground.

"Dude, how did you do that?!" KF zipped over to his side, grinning widely. "That was so cool! I didn't know you could just make things explo-"

"We can talk about that later," Robin snapped, shoving past him to get through the door. "First we have to save the teammate who foolishly ran into battle. Alone." He then ran down the hallway, not waiting for the other two to catch up.

 _"M'gann, we're coming,"_ Connor told his girlfriend through the link.

Instead of the martian, they were greeted by Psimon, who smiled at them as he sent waves of pain at them through the hacked mental link. Robin immediately fell sideways, the feeling of knives being embedded into his very soul being too much for his body. Soon, everything went black.

What he didn't know was that it wasn't Psimon who blasted them.

xXx

Robin felt dizzy when he finally came to, a queasiness in his stomach threatening to bring his lunch back up. A few feet away from him, Wally groaned. "Yep, _there's_ the headache."

"...Psimon?" Robin asked, forcing himself to stand while simultaneously ignoring the way his stomach protested against the sudden movement.

M'gann smiled sadly. "He brain blasted you. I stopped him." She looked towards the center of the room, where Psimon was collapsed on top of a pile of rubble. His eyes stared in front of him, but they weren't seeing. It was like looking at a zombie. M'gann suddenly stiffened and gave Robin a concerned look. "Are you okay? I felt your emotions spike earlier, and now they-"

Robin didn't bother to hide his irritation. "Yeah, I'm fine. Now enough sitting around, we still have one last thing to do."

xXx

On the television screen, Queen Bee approached the President's guards, looking affronted when they wouldn't let her past. _"What do you mean the President won't see me?! He invited me!"_

Harjavti stepped out onto his balcony. _"Not of my free will, no! But now, that I am free of your minion's thrall, the Quraci people will never suffer your tyrannical rule!"_

The queen sent him a weak glare. _"Mark me, Harjavti! You will suffer for this! Qurac will be mine!"_

Robin turned the TV off just as Queen Bee entered the room, her features morphing back into M'gann's. Robin nodded to her. "Though that looked totally faked, I think it should be enough. Now the public should be convinced that Queen Bee was behind this."

KF put a hand on his shoulder, grinning excitedly. "Dude saving a country? Pretty big win for your first turn as 'leader.'"

"Yeah, thanks." Robin said bitterly, shrugging him off. "Let's just go home."

"Can we check on Garfield first?" M'gann asked hopefully. "I'm worried about him."

Robin grit his teeth; here M'gann goes, leading them to places other than their destination, _again_. "Fine," he snapped. "But no other stops."

Kid Flash watched as he all but stormed out, and looked between the other two heroes. "Uh, am I the only one picking up on these mood swings?"

Connor frowned. "He was fine earlier, just quiet."

Wally nodded slowly. "He might just be stressed." His eyes widened after a sudden thought came to him. "Shoot! Deathstroke works with Queen Bee sometimes, right? _That's_ probably why he's been so distant! He was worried about being kidnapped by that one eyed creep!"

Superboy tensed. "I forgot all about him. He could be in Bialya right now, or even in Qurac for all we know. We should probably stay near Robin, just in case."

Kid nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's catch up with him. I don't want him being alone when Deathstroke could snatch him at any second." He dashed out the door with Superboy following close behind.

Neither of them noticed how silent M'gann was.

xXx

"Garfield...?" M'gann whispered as she pushed his bedroom door open. A feeling of guilt weighed heavily in her chest; just a few minutes ago she had a chance to spill the beans about what she truly was, but she lied instead. If the Team ever found out about it, they would definitely hate her now. But what could she do? If she told them the truth, they would be absolutely disgusted with her!

As the light from the hallway lit up the bedroom, M'gann soon realized that she was not alone with Garfield. "Shh," Queen Bee whispered, putting a finger up to her smirking lips. "It would be a shame to wake him." She put a hand on Garfield's head in an almost motherly fashion. "I might have to order my little thrall here to damage himself." M'gann's eyes glowed as she prepared to attack, but Bee shook her head. "Ah ahh, he had orders to do just that if anything happens to me."

M'gann was cornered. Queen Bee had her just where she wanted her. The martian's eyes dimmed and her shoulders slumped, a resentful feeling growing with every breath Bee took.

Bee's smirk widened. "Now, about your performance. A bit over the top, I think, but you haven't practiced me the way you've perfected the role of Megan." She stood up, noticing the flash of surprise on M'gann's face. "That's right, poor Psimon's not the only one who knows your true form." She leaned closer to the younger girl's ear. "And if you don't cooperate, I'll make sure everyone knows what you really are." She stepped back, grinning a Cheshire cat grin. "Understand?"

"...Y-Yes." M'gann squeezed her eyes shut tight. Even as she was in the process of agreeing, she couldn't believe herself. Was she really putting the entire Team's lives in danger?!

"Excellent." She looked at something to her right. "Tell the girl what you want done."

A dark chuckle met M'gann's ears, and the blood in her veins went cold from hearing it. She used to think _Robin's_ laughs were creepy, but this was absolutely terrifying. It was so evil, so ruthless and intimidating... "It's a pleasure to finally meet one of my apprentice's teammates." The man stepped into the Light, his one eye gleaming behind his orange and black mask.

"Deathstroke," M'gann whispered, a tightness forming in her throat. Without thinking, she mentally checked on her youngest teammate to make sure he was alive and well. Relieved when she found him to be safe, she returned her attention to Deathstroke. "If you try to hurt Robin..." Instead of sounding threatening, her voice came out in something akin to a squeak.

There was another bout of laughter. "Now, why would I do that when you're perfectly capable of doing so?"

M'gann froze. "W-What?" She shook her head frantically. "No, I would never hurt him!"

Deathstroke took a step forward, and she automatically took a step back. Now she understood why Robin was absolutely terrified of this man; M'gann could hardly stand to breathe in the same room he occupied, she couldn't imagine having to train with him.

All of a sudden, he was right in front of her. M'gann let out a startled squeak, but it was silenced when Deathstroke put his hand over her mouth. "You _will_ cooperate, or the entire world will know your secret," the man hissed at her. M'gann could only stare at him through wide eyes, her heart beating frantically in her chest. "Will you listen?"

M'gann found that she was too scared to say no, so she nodded her head stiffly, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

"Good." He released his grip on her and took a small step backwards. "Now, don't get too worked up, you don't have to physically harm Renegade." The way he said Robin's old title made M'gann feel sick, he said his name like he was talking about a pet. "All I require is that you hurt him emotionally."

"Hurt him emotionally? H-How?" She asked quietly, not daring to argue against him anymore. She had a feeling that he would hurt her without a second thought, and wouldn't hesitate to kill her if she didn't cooperate.

Deathstroke shrugged. "How you do it is up to you. One thing is for certain, you must stop being friends with him."

"... Why?" She whispered hesitantly. She didn't _want_ to be mean to Robin. He was like a little brother to her, and it would hurt them both if she had to treat him so coldly. And Robin already felt like an outsider on the Team. What if her being mean to him only drove him farther away from them?

"That is none of your concern." He held her gaze, and she fought against her sudden urge to bolt out of the building. He was so... _creepy_. "Just see that it is done. If you don't..." he nodded to Queen Bee, who smirked at her coldly.

M'gann closed her eyes. _"I'm so, so sorry Robin. I hope that you'll forgive me someday."_ She thought to herself, before nodding at the two villains. "I-I'll do it."

"Good," Bee purred. "Now, leave the room and pretend that this encounter never happened. We'll keep in touch."

M'gann nodded silently, and fled the room as fast as she could, not wanting to stay near the two any longer than necessary. The tears that she fought so hard against finally fell from her eyes, and she went into camouflage mode to avoid being seen by her teammates.

 _"I'm such a bad person. I don't even deserve to be on this team!"_ She mentally wailed, dragging herself into the living room silently. When she caught sight of Robin, she nearly broke down into hysterics _. "We're supposed to protect you from him, and now I'm helping him get to you. I... I'm sorry Robin."_

And even though she knew that it was the wrong choice, she never brought up her encounter with Deathstroke and Queen Bee.

xXx

 **AN: How long has it been since I've updated? A month? Time goes by fast when you're the author, but I've heard from a couple of people who say that it's a lot slower when you're the reader. Sorry guys! I'm trying my best here, I swear!**

 **Thanks for all of your comments! Your lovely words never fail to make me smile! :)**

 **See you next chapter!**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: Warning, this chapter contains content that may be emotionally harmful to certain people. A section of this chapter had been marked with "TRIGGER WARNING," and should be skipped if self harm is triggering to you.**

 **This mentioning of self harm is not going to occur often, because I know that it could be damaging to some of my readers. Rest assured, the reference isn't too graphic, but it's there nonetheless.**

xXx

Dick tapped his pencil against the dining room table, frowning at his paper indecisively. His homework assignment during break was to write an essay about all of the things he was grateful for this Thanksgiving. Barbara told him that it was a fairly normal assignment; she did it several times in her own lifetime, and it became easy after the first few years. But unlike Barbara, Dick didn't go to school for the majority of his life. No, his life was a completely different story

So naturally, Dick found that he had a lot to be grateful for this year.

He didn't think about it much, but there were tons of things that people took for granted, but had left him breathless when he first escaped from Cadmus. The sun, the sky, the grass, the trees, everything that people saw during their every day lives saw foreign to him. Seeing people wander around in the streets, hearing the roar of car engines, watching a show on television... Those were all unfamiliar as well.

Dick closed his eyes while he thought. Even the pencil and paper in front of him would have made him ecstatic last year, back when he had nothing. In a short amount of time, Dick adjusted to his new life and began to take things for granted just like everyone else. It made him frustrated with himself. He used to dream about the luxuries that he now has, and never once did he stop to appreciate any of it. But now, he would make sure to, at least for today.

He began to write. _'Thanksgiving is a holiday that was once celebrated by acknowledging the things we are grateful for, but over the years it has been downgraded to a day spent stuffing our faces with food. But that's because we never realize what we have until it's been taken away. We don't appreciate what we have because we can't imagine life without it. To us, everything is normal. We have food on the table, we ride in a car to school, we hang out with our friends, and we argue with our parents. But what if that was all taken away?_

 _'My life in Cadmus wasn't an ideal childhood. I ate stale bread and drank water everyday, there was never any light in my room, and the only company I had wasn't exactly wanted. All of my memories became distant and blurry, and eventually I started to forget who I was. I was without hope for the longest time, but that all changed when the Justice League found me. Then, I was given a second chance._

 _'At first, this world terrified me. What was normal for most people easily overwhelmed me. The scariest part? Having people who cared about me. Not only did Bruce Wayne take me under his wing, but I made several friends who, to my surprise, actually liked me. Sometimes I still don't know how to act around them, but every time I mess up, they forgive me. Because that's what friends and family do. We're there for each other, and we accept each other's mistakes. And I think I'm just starting to realize how special that is._

 _'So this Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for_ _ **everything**_ _. Sometimes I need a reminder that my life changed for the better, and this holiday might've been the push I needed. There's always something to be grateful for, and thinking about it will make life seem so much better.'_

Dick smiled slightly to himself as he set his pencil down besides his paper. He would have to expand on it a bit, but he figured it was a great first draft. "Hey Alfie, I'm done with homework!" He shouted, hopping up to his feet. "I'm going to go to the Cave to hang out with the Team until Bruce gets back."

Alfred emerged from the kitchen, removing an oven mitt from his hand. "Very good Master Dick, but please stay out of trouble."

Dick gave him a quick thumbs up and grabbed his usual hoodie as he ran towards Bruce's study. Alfred watched him go with a soft smile, shaking his head at his antics. "That boy is a wild ball of energy when he's in the mood. It's rather nice having a child in the house again." He looked at the dining room table and noticed the boy had left his homework behind. "Of course it would be nicer if I didn't have to clean up after him." He chuckled lightly and strode over to the table, swiftly picking up the writing utensil and paper. "Hm?" His eyes caught the word 'Cadmus,' and he stopped short. Why would the young master write about Cadmus for school? Curious, Alfred continued to read.

When he got to the end, he found tears prickling his eyes. "This boy is certainly a blessing to this house. I don't think he quite understands how grateful we are that we have _him_." He lowered the paper back onto the table. "I hate to intrude, but I absolutely must show Master Bruce what he wrote. I think we all need a reminder of what we have."

xXx

 **"Recognized: Robin, B01."**

"Dude!" Wally suddenly appeared right in front of him, just as he stepped out of the Zeta Tube. "I thought you'd be stuck at home all day."

Robin grinned as he shook his head. "I finished what I had to do, and since Batman's still at the JLA meeting, Agent A let me come here."

"Sweet," The redhead punched his shoulder lightly. "I have a few minutes before I need to go back to my place. Thanksgiving dinner isn't something I take lightly."

A snort. "Of course not, Wally. When do you _ever_ take eating food lightly?" He joked. "So who's here?" He asked as Wally led the way to the living room area, where he spotted Connor and Wolf. Inside the kitchen was M'gann and Zatanna, who seemed to be enjoying themselves as they made dinner.

"Everyone except Artemis and Kaldur. I'm guessing they have their own things to do today."

M'gann looked up from the oven. "Oh, I thought you were going back home, Wally." She smiled warmly before turning to Robin. He was about to greet her, but her smile fell the second she laid eyes on him. She stared at him for a solid five seconds, seeming to mentally argue with herself about something. After a moment passed, she nodded her head at him curtly before turning to look at Zatanna. "Do you need help with the potatoes?"

Robin was taken aback by her abrupt change in personality. Even Wally seemed pick up on it, for he gave him a questioning glance. Robin could only shrug his shoulders in response, staring after her in confusion. Did he do something wrong? "M'gann-"

"Hey Wally, shouldn't you be heading to your house now?" She interrupted, smiling at the speedster. "You shouldn't keep your family waiting on such a big day!"

Wally groaned. "Right, right. I wanted to stay and hang out with Rob, but..." He smiled apologetically at the acrobat. "Sorry, but she's right. I'm already late enough as it is. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow?"

"...Sure." Robin forced a smile. "Send me a text or something. I'm sure Agent A will be more than happy to give you leftovers from dinner if you come over."

Wally beamed. "Agent A's cooking? Sweet! There's no way I could pass that up. See you tomorrow!" And with that, he sped out of the room, the Zeta Tube announcing his departure.

Robin's smile finally fell off of his face, and he turned towards M'gann. _"Did I do something wrong?"_ He thought towards her, knowing that she would be able to pick up on it. _"Look, if this is about how I acted in Qurac, I already apologized. I don't know what got into me."_

M'gann continued to work in the kitchen, acting like she couldn't hear him.

 _"... Fine."_ He turned away and stalked over to the living room, flopping down onto the couch. He didn't know why M'gann was ignoring him, but he had to admit that it stung. A lot. The martian girl was one of the sweetest people he ever met, and he thought it was impossible for her to ignore _anyone_. But now she was giving him the cold shoulder, and he had no idiea what to do about it. Maybe Connor had some clue? He was her boyfriend after all. "Hey Con-"

Connor suddenly stood. "I need to walk Wolf," he said, his pet standing by his side. "Unless it's important, we can talk later." Without waiting for a reply, the clone just about fled the room with his oversized dog.

"..." Robin watched him go with wide eyes. Okay, so both Miss Martian and Superboy were ignoring him. Were they still mad at him for how he was during their last mission, or was this something else entirely? Whatever it was, Robin didn't like it. Being treated almost like he didn't exist was a major punch to the gut.

"I'm going to go back home," he muttered, standing.

Zatanna frowned at him from her place besides M'gann. "But you just got here. Is something wrong?"

He didn't meet her gaze. "No. You guys just seem busy, and I don't want to annoy you." He turned his back and walked towards the Zeta Tubes. "I'll see you later. Have a nice Thanksgiving."

He walked through the Zeta Tube and didn't even blink as his surroundings suddenly changed to the Bat Cave. His face burned with an emotion he couldn't describe, and his steps lacked enthusiasm they held before. It wasn't too long ago that he said how grateful he was to have his friends, and now it seemed like they were drifting away. How could he be grateful for having them around if they were leaving him? And what changed between them? Whatever it was, he hoped it wouldn't last.

His thoughts suddenly took a turn towards self hatred. Of course it was his fault that his friends were mad at him; he acted like a total jerk the last time he saw them. And even though they brushed it off at the time, it probably still lingered in their heads.

Dick winced and looked around the Cave, his gaze falling on his hung up Robin costume. He eyed the utility belt warily; he had a very _bad_ idea...

xXx (With Superboy) xXx

Superboy used the Super Cycle to navigate the streets of Washington DC, focused on finding the owner of the voice that spoke to him earlier. He felt slightly guilty for leaving Robin hanging when he wanted to speak with him, but he figured that he would get over it. This was Robin he was talking about; that kid shrugged off everything that came his way.

Well, almost everything. There was one thing- one _person_ that was able to get under the acrobat's skin, but since this had nothing to do with him, Superboy decided that it wouldn't be a problem.

He had no idea that the majority of the statements in that last sentence were incredibly incorrect.

Connor came to a halt at the meeting point of the mysterious voice, and narrowed his eyes at the limousine that was waiting for him. So what kind of rich guy would be stupid enough to call him? Bruce Wayne?

The door to the driver's seat open, and a blank faced woman with light brown hair stepped out of the car. Connor studied her carefully, confused to why he couldn't hear her heartbeat. Was she not human? A robot, maybe? He felt his apprehension grow; he heard of a villain having a robotic assistant, didn't he?

The lady barely sent him a sideways glance as she moved to the side of the car, opening the door for a bald headed man. Superboy froze in his tracks as the man elegantly brought himself out of his limo and gave him a polite, yet cold smile. "Superboy," he greeted. "My name is Lex Luthor. I'm the new Chairman of the Board for Project Cadmus."

Superboy curled his hands into fists at his side. Of all people, it had to be _Lex Luther_ that wanted to meet him. "I know who you are," he ground out, scowling. "And I want nothing to do with you, or Cadmus." Instead of punching him in the face like he wanted to, he turned around and moved back to the Super Cycle. What a complete waste of his time _. This_ was why he ignored Robin earlier? He'd rather hear the acrobat's newest butchered word than deal with this.

"Cadmus has created a new super clone," Luthor called out to him, making him come to a halt.

He slowly turned around and sent his strongest glare at the man. "What did you say?"

"I said: Cadmus has created a new super clone," the genius repeated calmly. "Please don't make me repeat myself a second time. I _do_ have other things to do, believe it or not."

That smartass comment made the clone snap. Superboy snarled and charged forward without a second thought, leaving Wolf behind. The robot woman attempted to get in his way, but he easily pushed her to the side. Once he was close enough, he grabbed Luthor by the front of his expensive suit. "Either you talk, or I'll break every bone in your body."

"I wouldn't if I were you." An arrow suddenly landed by Superboy's feet, and he instinctively looked over at it. He regretted it as soon as the glowing rock strapped onto it came to view, and he lost his grip on Luthor as he fell to his knees.

"Kryptonite..." he growled, glaring up at the man.

"What's that look for? _I_ didn't do a thing." Luthor smiled coldly. "I did, however, come prepared." There was the sound of footsteps to his left, and Superboy weakly turned his head to look at the new addition to their little get together. His eyes widened when he saw who it was. "I believe you've met Deathstroke before, haven't you?"

The one-eyed mercenary chuckled humorlessly. "I'm afraid he hasn't had the pleasure of meeting me in person, but I'm sure he has heard many tales from my apprentice."

"You..." The image of the laughing acrobat came to mind, and his rage skyrocketed. "If you go anywhere near Robin, I'll-"

Deathstroke waved an impatient hand. "Yes, yes, I know. Do you heroes only have one script?" He folded his arms behind his back casually. "But believe it or not, I am not here for Renegade. Luthor simply asked that I remain on hand just in case you threw a tantrum."

Superboy grit his teeth in response; this man was the reason Robin had panic attacks, the sole person who kept him from being happy. "I don't care what you're here for," he spat, though the effect was nullified by how weak he felt. "I'm telling you right now, I don't care about our no kill rule. I'll rip your throat out if you so much as think about hurting him!"

The man seemed unconcerned with his threat. "I'll keep that in mind," he said with an audible smirk. "Now, are you calm enough to listen to reason? Lex here had something very important to tell you."

Connor wanted to do nothing more than lunge at the assassin, but both the Kryptonite in his face and the thought of another super clone stopped him from acting on those feelings. "...Tell me what you know," he ground out.

Deathstroke hummed as he came over and plucked his arrow from the ground, returning it to the quiver on his back. Superboy climbed back up to his feet, sending him the deadliest glare he had. Still, Deathstroke remained unfazed.

"Ahem," Luthor straightened his tie. "Now that we're ready to act like adults..."

xXx

Minutes later, Deathstroke watched the clone race away on his bike. "You are certain that the Shields have been modified appropriately?" He asked Luthor calmly.

"Yes. Each time he uses them, he will have a reaction similar to how Renegade acts when he uses _his_ abilities. It was your apprentice that gave me the idea, actually." He smiled smugly. "It was difficult to make a stronger effect towards a certain person, but I was able to make the proper adjustments. Each time Superboy uses the Shields, he will become extremely agitated, even more so with Renegade present. Even after the very first Shield, his emotions towards Renegade will shift permanently. They'll only grow worse over time."

Deathstroke smirked. "Excellent work, Luthor. Now all that's left is the archer, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Zatara's daughter."

Luthor rose his eyebrows. "Three will be enough, I think. I would recommend the archer, Artemis. Her father already works for the Light, and it would be easier to make her change allegiances. The other three have been involved with the Justice League for too long to be swayed so easily. That would take time that we don't want to waste."

There was a brief pause as Deathstroke considered his words. After a moment of silence, he slowly nodded. "Very well, Luthor. I'll trust your judgement. You do know the JLA more than I do, after all."

The billionaire nodded as well. "Of course. To be an expert on _one_ Leaguer requires you to know a bit about all of them." He gave him a quizzical look. "I don't understand your motives, Slade. We already told you we have no need for Renegade to be stationed any longer, so why not simply kidnap him? That would save us all a lot of trouble."

"Renegade wouldn't willingly cooperate with me if I were to do that," Deathstroke said calmly.

"Why should that stop you?" He smirked. "Two words, Slade. That's all it takes to shut the experiments down; that's all that you need to have him under your control."

"... Having him under my complete control is not what I want." He narrowed his eyes fractionally. "If I were to do that, he wouldn't be human, he would be a mindless robot. He wouldn't learn, or be able to think in battle. Instead of steadily improving, he would remain exactly the same. That is not my wish."

"Ah... But you have considered it?"

Deathstroke nodded. "My first plan is to distance him from his friends, make it easier to manipulate his emotions and get him to willingly join me. If that doesn't work, I'll simply break him. I'll tear him apart and build him back up the way I want." He shrugged. "And if it comes down to it, I'll work out how to control him _and_ keep his humanity intact." He smiled coolly. "But I'm certain it won't have to come to that. Even if the first plan were to fail, there's no recovering from the second one. If I break someone, they _stay_ broken."

Luthor nodded in understanding. "Of course. But wasn't it his strong will that brought him to your attention in the first place? What if there is a chance that not even you could break him?"

Slade actually laughed at that. "Oh yes, he is definitely strong willed, but that won't be enough. He thought his training in Cadmus was difficult? Hn. He has _no_ idea." He smiled darkly. "There are plenty of ways to tear someone down, Lex, and I know exactly how to bring him to his knees."

xXx **(TRIGGER WARNING)** xXx

The second Bruce walked through the Bat Cave's Zeta Tube, he found himself being tackled by a small, raven haired human. "Dick?" He smiled in amusement, removing his cowl. "Not that I don't appreciate the hug, but couldn't you wait to attack me at least until I changed?"

"Nope," Dick responded in a muffled voice, only hugging him tighter. "By taking me into your home, you unknowingly signed up for random hug attacks. So deal with it."

Bruce couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I see you're in a good mood today."

"Uh huh." He peered up at him. "I realized something today."

"What's that?" Bruce questioned, raising his eyebrows.

He briefly caught sight of Dick's grin as he pulled away. "One, Alfred's pretty nosy sometimes."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He totally read the paper I wrote for English." He smirked. "And I bet you that he's going to show it to you after I go to bed."

"Is that so?" Bruce ruffled his hair. "It must be some paper if _Alfred_ was nosy enough to read through it."

"I'm pretty inspiring." He ran his fingers through his hair to fix it, stealing a glance at his reflection on the Bat Computer to make sure it was the way he had it before. "The second thing I realized was that I really like it here at the Manor."

Bruce was taken aback for a second. "I'm glad to hear that," he said uncertainly. "But did you not like it here before?"

"I did, but I didn't realize it before." He lowered his gaze. "Also, I came to the realization that I never thanked you for everything that you've done for me."

"You don't have to thank me," Bruce said gently, surprised by the change in direction the conversation took.

"Yeah, I do." Dick took a step backwards. "I had nothing, and without really knowing me, you stepped in and provided me with everything I could ask for. Even now, I don't understand why you bother with me. I mean, you keep giving me things and I never return the favor, but you still like having me around. I don't understand it, but I _am_ grateful for it."

"Dick..." Bruce pulled him into another hug. "You do return the favor. I can't explain it, but my world was completely dark before you arrived. But then you came around, and I was given light."

His words only managed to confuse the teen. "How? Bruce, I don't know if you've noticed, but my world isn't any brighter than yours. How could I have possibly brought you light when I don't have any?"

Bruce squeezed his shoulder. "You'll understand when you have a child, chum. It doesn't matter how much darkness they have, they can always brighten the room." He finally released him. "And I'm more than grateful to have you around for that."

"... I think I understand," Dick murmured, smiling.

"Good." He stretched his arms. "Now, will you finally let me go get changed? Alfred's Thanksgiving dinner is waiting for us upstairs, and that's not something you'll want to miss."

Dick snorted. "Fine, I guess I'll let you go." He grinned mischievously. "But I'm going straight upstairs, and even Alfred's deadliest glare won't stop me from starting dinner without you." He let out an evil cackle that sounded even more eery as the sound bounced around the cave walls.

Bruce's eyes widened. "You are a whole new breed of evil, chum."

"I try." He smirked and spun around to leave, and that's when Bruce saw something that made his smile drop. He grabbed onto Dick's wrist to stop him, much to the teen's surprise. But Bruce didn't pause to give him an explanation, he only narrowed his eyes at the red line he saw just below the edge of Dick's sleeve. Dick finally seemed to catch on. "Bruce-" he started, but was promptly ignored.

Bruce pulled his sleeve back all the way, eyes widening. _No._ A series of horizontal lines were scattered around the majority of Dick's arm, all of them shallow, but terrifying nonetheless. "Dick..."

The boy yanked his arm back, smile now completely gone. "It's nothing," he said quickly.

"Nothing?" Bruce repeated sharply, staring at him in open shock. "You hurt yourself, Dick!" Dick flinched at his tone, and Bruce paused. No, that wasn't the best approach to that, was it? Yelling wasn't the answer in this situation. "... How long has this been going on?" He asked in a calmer voice, forcing his eyes away from the lines on his arm.

"...I just did it today," Dick murmured, pulling his sleeve down.

That was only sightly reassuring. "But why?" He grabbed both of his wrists this time, and brought his sleeves up past his elbows _. He did it on both arms._ Bruce wanted to tear his own hair out of his head, or maybe even have a panic attack of his own for once. Of course he had heard about teenagers self harming, but he never thought _Dick_ would do that. The thought of him bringing a blade to his own skin made him inwardly flinch. "I thought you knew that you could talk to either Alfred or myself if you were feeling depressed."

"I know..." He still wouldn't meet his eyes. "But when I came back from the Cave you weren't here, and no offense to Alfred, but he isn't as comforting as you." His shoulders slumped. "I know that's a stupid excuse, but I didn't know what else to do..."

Bruce found that he didn't know what to say to that. If he didn't have a League meeting, could he have stopped this from happening? He winced and turned Dick's arms over, noticing that the deeper cuts were on his wrists. "Chum, that's so dangerous," he breathed, running his thumb over the most hazardous ones. If those had been any deeper... He shuddered, and pulled Dick into a strong hug. "Please, don't ever do this ever again."

Dick slowly returned the hug, nodding shortly. "I won't," he said in a timid voice. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be... Just promise me that you won't do it again. _Please_. I can't stand the thought of you hurting yourself."

"I-I promise." Dick squeezed his eyes shut. "I didn't mean to scare you, Bruce..."

"You thought that potentially losing you _wouldn't_ scare me?" He ran a hand through Dick's hair. "What was it that made you do it? What could possibly make you turn to such means of coping?"

"... I have a feeling that M'gann and Connor hate me," he said softly. "But I don't know why."

Bruce pulled away in surprise. "What makes you think that?"

"I know my teammates, Bruce..." he sighed. "Well, Con might have just been distracted, but I _know_ M'gann was ignoring me. I've never seen her act so coldly to anyone, not even our enemies. I guess I just happen to be the exception." He bit his lip. "It really hurt when she ignored me, especially since I was so excited to talk to the Team today..."

Bruce frowned. "If she continues with this behavior, tell me. Give me the word, and I'll make sure to have a talk with her."

Dick smiled slightly. "Thanks..." He shifted his weight slightly, looking uncomfortable. "Well, you should probably hurry and get changed. Knowing Alfred, he'll only wait a couple more minutes before he comes down go see what's going on." The way he said it implied that Dick didn't want the butler to be involved in this one bit. Bruce definitely didn't agree.

"I have to tell Alfred about what happened," he said sternly. "I know you said you wouldn't cut again, but I'd feel better if Alfred knew to keep an eye on you whenever I'm gone."

"...Okay..."

Bruce ruffled his hair again. "Stay here until I get back. I really don't want you being alone right now." He waited for Dick's nod of agreement before he grabbed his clothes and moved towards the small locker area. He wanted nothing more to just turn around and pull his adopted son into a bear hug, or fret over his wounds like the overprotective man he was, but he refrained. "Miss Martian better pull her act together," he growled lowly as he began to take off his costume. "Or I will personally remind her why I'm known as the world's scariest hero."

xXx

 **AN: I hope that wasn't too much. Please let me know if I overdid it or not. Like I said in the first AN, this kind of thing won't happen often, so no worries.**

 **Also, writing about what Dick was grateful for made me think about my own life. Guys, I know I thank you for your comments at the end of every chapter, but I can never express how grateful I truly am to have such wonderful readers. Thank you all so much for staying with me for this long. 3**

 **One last thing: Don't expect for another quick update like this. I just had way too much free time on my hands over the weekend, and I was so excited about this story that I spent the majority of my time writing this chapter. Yeah, I know, I'm a dork. xD**

 **See you next chapter!**


	22. The Last Day of Normalcy

"Happy Birthday to you-"

Dick's face burned, and he lowered his head to block out the sound of his classmates' singing. Why were they doing this to him? He never asked for this strange and slightly terrifying song to be sung to him on the anniversary of his birth. If he knew when he was a fetus that this would happen annually, he might have self destructed. Well, if that was possible.

Why did Alfred make him go to school today, again? Oh right, it was because he was _pure evil._

"Happy birthday to you," Barbara sang significantly louder than the others, grinning cheekily as she elbowed her embarrassed friend. Dick peeked out from his sanctuary and sent her a weak glare. Not cool.

"Happy birthday dear Richard! Happy birthday to you!"

"Cheer up, birthday boy," Barbara told him once the class ended their awful chanting. "This is tradition."

"Humans are weird," he grumbled, emerging from his hiding spot. "I completely forgot about the birthday song. Never will I ever come to school on my birthday again."

"Hey, you're human too," Barbara pointed out with a roll of her eyes. "So embrace our strange rituals. And besides, it's a good thing you came to school today because I have to talk to you about something."

Dick rose his eyebrows. "Yeah? Is this about our science project again? 'Cause if you hound me about my half one more time, I'm finding a new partner."

"Haha, very funny," Barb said with a mock glare. "But no, I was wondering about the Winter Formal that's in January. Bruce is funding it again this year, isn't he?"

"I think so." Their teacher gave them a stern look and he smiled at her apologetically, finally jotting down the notes she had on the board. "Since Bruce likes to throw money at this school like no one's business, I doubt he won't be funding the dance," he said this last part in a whisper, eyeing the teacher so that they wouldn't get caught and moved away from each other.

"Then that means that you're going, right?" Barbara asked in a low voice, pretending to be paying attention to whatever the teacher was rambling about. "I mean, Bruce would want you to go, so I assumed..."

He shrugged lightly, a movement that Barbara was able to pick up on, but the teacher wouldn't be able to recognize. "I'm not a dancing kind of person, but if Bruce wants me to go then I probably don't have much of a choice. Why?"

"My dad is forcing me to go." From the corner of his eye, Dick saw Barbara wrinkle her nose. "And I figured that if you were going, then we might as well go together."

Dick's pencil hovered over his paper as he paused, the gears in his brain turning slower than usual. "Wait, like a date?" He asked, flushing as he turned to face her.

She didn't look up from her paper, but Dick caught sight of a slightly embarrassed grin. "Why not?"

"Uh, s-sure. Sounds like fun," he stammered, turning back to his own work while Barbara snickered at his response. "Happy Birthday to me," he muttered to himself with a mental fist pump, a radiant grin on his face.

xXx

When Dick returned to the Manor after school, he knew that there was a present waiting for him. Bruce had been ecstatic for days now, going on and on and about how excited he was that they would be able to celebrate Dick's birthday with him this year. So yeah, Dick was expecting Bruce to shove a gift into his hands the second he walked through the door.

What he didn't expect was to be led to a mountain of gifts in the living room.

"Um..." He stared at the assortment of colorfully wrapped presents, unsure of what to say. "Bruce, this is _a lot_."

The man smiled somewhat sheepishly, an action that was completely out of character. "I thought it might be too much, but this all has meaning to it. Come here, I'll show you what I mean," he brought Dick over to the center of the chaos and had him sit down, before handing him a present with an animal paw print wrapping paper on it. "Take a look."

Dick turned the box over a few times, before finally finding a label. "Richard's ninth birthday," he read out loud, confusion evident in his voice. He lowered the gift and frowned at his mentor speechlessly. What did that mean?

Bruce joined him on the carpet, smiling almost sadly. "I'm sure you've figured out by now that I knew you before your disappearance, right?"

Dick nodded. "Yeah, it was all over the news after I came back. They said that after I disappeared, you searched for me for years." He shrugged. "And I assumed that that was one of the reasons why Batman decided to take in a protege."

"Smart. Well, you're right, that is part of the reason." He picked up another one of the boxes, studying the childish design of the paper. "I was there during the performance that your parents died in," he said quietly, and Dick nodded. He had gathered that information a long time ago. "I saw how you were that night, completely helpless and full of despair. I saw a bit of myself in you, that night, and after I spoke with you I knew that we had a connection that I couldn't ignore."

"You... spoke with me?" Dick repeated, surprised by this bit of information. "I don't remember that."

Bruce sighed. "I didn't think you would, not with how your memories are right now. But yes, you and I had a conversation, and by the end of it I asked if you would like to live with me. You said yes, and I left to start the process of adopting you."

This certainly was news to him. "You wanted to adopt me just like that? I barely knew you!"

"I know, I know. Trust me, I was confused by it just as much as you are. But I went through with it and when I was ready, I went to pick you up..." He scowled at the floor, a sudden flash of fury passing through his eyes. "That's when I found out you were being held in a Juvenile Detention Center. You obviously had no purpose of being there, but everywhere else was full..."

"... I remember that," Dick said after a moment of silence. "They didn't tell me what I was there for, they simply took away all of my things and stuck me in a cell. I've never been so confused in my life." He was suddenly hit with a realization, one that made his fingers dig into the carpet beneath him. "That is the last thing I remember before Cadmus. The Detention Center is where they kidnapped me, wasn't it?"

The anger drained out of Bruce, and he nodded solemnly. "When I came to the Center, there were police cars everywhere. I had a bad feeling that this had something to do with you in some way, and my fears were confirmed when Commissioner Gordon came to my car to speak with me."

"..." Dick searched Bruce's face, surprised by the grief he found there. "... Bruce?"

His guardian didn't face him. "Jim told me what happened. Every child under the age of fifteen was missing, and there was absolutely no clue to where they had gone. The security cameras had been successfully hacked, every guard had been slaughtered on the spot, and there wasn't even a sign of a struggle in any of the cells. There was nothing. Not even Batman could find a clue to what happened to them."

Dick suddenly understood something. "When our world split into two dimensions, one for adults and one for children, you were reminded of the day I went missing, weren't you?"

"Yes," Bruce admitted, looking disgruntled. "You were reminded of the failsafe on that day, but I also experienced losing you before. But my experience was _real_ , and it seemed impossible that I would ever have the chance to see you again. But like the softy you insist I am, I still hoped that I would." He gestured to the present in Dick's hands. "Every year, I got you a present for your birthday and Christmas because I hoped that there would be a day that I could actually give them to you. It may seem perfectly out of character for me, but-"

"It's great, Bruce," Dick interrupted, looking down at the box he held. The object the wrapping paper contained seemed much more precious than he originally thought, now that he realized how much meaning was behind it. Never did he believe that while he was in Cadmus, there was someone hoping against hope that he was still alive, or buying him gifts that he might not have ever seen. To put that much effort into something like that showed just how wrong the public was about Bruce. He wasn't cold hearted, he was actually the very opposite. "Bruce, I don't know what to say," he said truthfully, feeling quite emotional now that he heard just how much his adopted parent cared about him, how much he _always_ cared about him.

"Just open it," Bruce mumbled, sounding embarrassed over his display of emotions.

Dick carefully unwrapped his present, making sure to not tear the paper. He definitely wanted to save all of this, especially since these gifts would mean so much to both of them. He then did the same thing with the box, halting in his tracks when he caught sight of what was inside. "A Flying Grayson Poster," he breathed, gently pulling the laminated paper out of its container. "It's my parents," he murmured, tracing the outline of the three figures on the cartoon trapeze. Even on the poster, Dick could see the graceful way they flew through the air. It was amazing.

"I got quite a few things from the circus after I told them I planned to continue searching for you. They figured that if I found you, then you would want a few things that you had to leave behind." He handed him another box. "This was one of the more important things, or so they said."

Dick carefully set his poster down besides him and took the next gift, going through the same careful process he went through before. Soon, he held a stuffed elephant in his hands. "What is this?" He asked, his puzzlement distancing his mind from the significance of the first gift.

"You tell me," Bruce said simply. "I think you might be able to remember this one."

The blue toned fur was patted down as Dick ran his fingers through it, trying to place why this was so important to him. There was something about the toy that made him feel safe and warm, but he couldn't explain why. After a few seconds of puzzling it over, he found a sloppy name written on the elephant's tag. "Peanut," he read, but the name didn't do anything to jostle his memory. "I don't think I can remember this one."

Bruce looked slightly disappointed that he couldn't remember, but he went ahead and explained anyways, "Haly told me that you had Peanut since you were a toddler, and she seemed to help you with your nightmares." His eyes drifted down to the worn out animal. "Maybe she can work her magic now, too."

Dick bit back his reluctance of owning a stuffed animal, because he couldn't deny Bruce's logic. So instead, he set Peanut down and moved onto the next present.

Several meaningful gifts later, Dick found himself holding one last box, the one Bruce just recently got for him. The wrapping paper of this gift made him snort; it was covered in an abundance of Robin symbols. "I didn't know I was popular enough to become wrapping paper," he joked as he removed it.

"As the youngest kid hero, the public absolutely adores you. I think it took a week after your first sighting in Gotham for Robin to start having merchandise."

Dick's next comment died in his throat when he saw his last present. "Bruce, how did you get this?" He asked, holding up a picture frame. In the photograph was the _Team_ , all of them in their civilian outfits and goofing around in the Cave. The Team was hanging out in the common room, just talking with each other. It was a rare sight, seeing everyone look perfectly content with no arguments being made. Dick remembered this day well; it was a couple of days before the failsafe permanently scarred them. They all wanted to hang out outside of costume,and while they have done so many times, this had been the greatest.

"It doesn't matter how I got it. Do you like it?"

"Yes," he said immediately, though his voice faltered when his eyes lingered on Miss Martian and Superboy. Just a few days ago, he went to the Cave while Batman went to another JLA meeting, and the second he walked through the Zeta Tube he felt tension rising between him and the alien couple. Dick had stubbornly refrained from bolting, and tried to start a conversation, but that did nothing to cure his teammates from their sudden problem with him.

The hardest part about it was that instead of ignoring him like M'gann, Connor openly _glared_ at him. What did he do to make this happen?! He would do anything to set things right, but neither of them gave him a single chance to do so.

Bruce gently tapped his arm to snap him out of his thoughts. "Are they still ignoring you?"

He sighed. "Yes, but don't do anything about it." Dick set the frame down next to his poster. "I don't want them to talk to me only because you'll force them to."

There was a pause as Bruce's hand ghosted over the white lines on his arms. "If you're safety is on the line-"

"It's not on the line. I've kept my promise," he reminded him, pulling away. He was started to feel smothered. It was his fault that they were ignoring him, not theirs. If Batman stormed into the Cave and demanded that they stopped, then they would only hate him even more. "Just leave it alone, please."

Bruce looked absolutely discontent with his words. Dick mentally laughed, he was _way_ too protective sometimes. "... Fine, but if this gets in the way of your teamwork then I will have to intervene." He growled. "If you get hurt during a mission because they were ignoring you in the field, then there is no way in hell I will let it slide."

"Fair enough," Dick consented. "Good to know that you'll raise hell if I so much as scrape my knee because they ignored me."

"It's more serious than you think, Dick," Bruce said quietly, his expression more serious than Dick has ever seen out of costume. He felt uneasy about it, and Bruce seemed to notice, for he forcefully relaxed. "Let's stop talking about this. It's your birthday, and it should be happy." He stood, being careful to avoid accidentally stepping on any of the objects Dick had just unwrapped. "Oh, and Haly called while you were in school. He wanted me to wish you a happy birthday, and to tell you that you're welcome to visit the circus at any time... They really miss you."

Dick's eyes softened. "Yeah? Maybe I'll do that..." He looked down at Peanut, the sense of familiarity strengthening. "I think I'll surprise them by going to a performance the next time they come through Gotham."

"...Or maybe you don't have to wait that long," Bruce said thoughtfully. "I didn't want to tell you just yet, but I have a case you'll want to get involved in."

Dick rose his eyebrows, coming up to his feet as well. "Oh?"

"It's about Haly. He just told me today while I was on the phone with him... He wanted me to keep you out of this, but he mentioned that he might not he able to run the circus much longer." He met Dick's startled gaze. "The circus is being held responsible for crimes they didn't commit."

xXx (Five Days Later; Elsewhere) xXx

Artemis stared at her bedroom ceiling, her bones heavy with dread from what she has done. She slowly turned onto her side and glared at the orange and black communicator on her nightstand. When she had found her father lurking inside of her bedroom, she was startled, but when she spotted the man who accompanied him, she was absolutely pissed.

But then Deathstroke had to make her life a living hell, and after he and her father had left the only thing she could do was lay in her bed like the useless teenager she was. The villains' visit was still fresh on her mind...

 _[FLASHBACK]_

 _"I want you to be the factor that pushes Renegade over the edge," Deathstroke said softly, leaning against a wall nonchalantly. It was like he thought he owned the place._

 _"No way," She ground out, her hand itching toward her bow. "He wasn't even here tonight when I failed, and he's still my friend. Leave him out of this."_

 _Deathstroke looked almost bored as he stared her down. "Sportsmaster recorded his conversation with you and snapped a photo of you speaking with me when you weren't looking." Artemis tensed and spun around to face her father, who only shrugged. "If you don't do exactly what I tell you, the League will anonymously receive both the recording and the photo."_

 _Artemis snarled. "Do you really think I'm that selfish?! That I would listen to you and hurt Robin just because you have some dirt on me?!"_

 _"Yes I do believe that, and more importantly, so do you." Deathstroke pushed himself away from the wall and walked towards her, and she automatically took a step backwards, shivers going down her spine. She couldn't explain it, but she wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Maybe it was the way he towered over her, or maybe it was how unnervingly calm he was. Either way, Artemis just wanted him to leave._

 _"No matter what you say, I won't hurt him," she said hotly, her thoughts going back to the day the two of them had to save the rest of their friends from the Reds. She and him bonded, and even though he was more annoying than that Richard Grayson kid, she wouldn't do anything to hurt him intentionally. Never._

 _And why did Deathstroke want her to be mean to him anyways? That was such an odd request._

 _"Shame. Let me put it this way..." He suddenly produced a remote controller, and held his thumb right above a crimson button. Artemis narrowed her eyes at it; villains and red buttons never mixed well. "You are aware that Renegade has a computer chip in his head, yes?"_

 _"It's Robin, and yeah." She didn't dare to remove her gaze from the remote. "So?"_

 _"Well back when he was under my care, I used this remote to... adjust his behavior, so to speak. Pressing this button sends a controlled amount of electricity through Renegade's brain. It was perfect for punishments, and it will suffice as a form of execution."_

 _Artemis grit her teeth, a burning hatred for Deathstroke igniting in her veins. This man just spoke about torturing her friend like one would talk about the weather. What the hell was wrong with this guy?! "You wouldn't go through all of this effort just to kill him off in the end," she snapped, trying to keep herself as calm as possible._

 _"Oh, you think? Then you don't know me at all." His thumb lowered, just barely brushing the button. "I have long since decided that if I can't have him, no one can. So if you don't help me with my plan, then I have no reason to keep him alive."_

 _"Stop." She stumbled towards him as he moved to press the button down, and that's when she felt it: pure and utter helplessness. What could she even do in this situation to get the outcome she wanted? If she didn't obey, Robin would die, and these two villains would make sure that her friends wouldn't trust her every again. If she did obey, then she would only be helping Deathstroke kidnap Robin, and for all she knew, that was a fate far worse than death._

 _There was no winning._

 _"Will you listen?" Deathstroke asked smugly, already knowing her answer._

 _"...Only until I find a way out of this," she spat, though she recoiled when the assassin's eyes narrowed in warning. But she wouldn't let herself look weak, especially not in front of her father. "As soon as Robin is safe, you better watch your back. Because as soon as I know that you can't hurt him, I'll come after you with everything I have." She squared her shoulders. "And I won't exclude my lethal arrows."_

 _"I look forward to it," Deathstroke said with a soft chuckle._

 _[End Flashback]_

Now, Artemis continued to stare at her bedroom walls, feeling helpless against Deathstroke. Not only was she now technically working for her father, someone she swore that she would never speak to ever again, but she was also a pawn in Deathstroke's game now. She could deal with her dad, but being forced to participate in Robin's capture made her feel all sorts of wrong. There had to be a way to warn Robin about the danger he was in without alerting Deathstroke, but how? If Deathstroke caught wind that she told anyone, then her youngest teammate would most certainly die.

"Some family we turned out to be," she muttered darkly, turning over to press her face into her pillow. "The Team said we were siblings not too long ago, and I betrayed them all." She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. This was a strange feeling, being so worried about someone else's well-being. It was taking all of her willpower to not rush to the Cave and demand to speak with Robin to make sure he was okay. "Stay safe, little brother..."

xXx

 **AN: Like you all probably guessed, the next episode this story will cover is "Performance." From this point on, we start climbing up to the conclusion. So be prepared for** ** _lots_** **of angst!**

 **But anyways, thank you all for your reviews! I appreciate your kind, and sometimes hilarious comments, and I look forward to hearing more from you guys in future chapters. ^^**

 **See you next chapter!**


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Look out everybody, there is a very long chapter up ahead! Please enjoy the missing hours of sleep I put into this part. (I'm a dork that gets really excited about my stories, and sometimes I lose sleep over it).**

 **Seriously though... Over ten thousand words...**

 **See you at the end!**

xXx

"Welcome to Haly's Circus!" The ringmaster threw his hands into the air joyously. "Where our troupe is your oyster! And these are our latest pearls: the Daring Dangers!" High above the ring, Dick smiled cheerfully and waved to the audience before leaping off of the safety of his platform and grabbing a hold of one of the swinging bars. "Here is Dan Danger!" Dick flung himself off of the bar, flipping past M'gann as the ringmaster introduced the other four 'Dangers.' Just as they had practiced, when Dick and M'gann came back around, they soared through two barrels that Connor had thrown into the air, dazzling lights exploding around them as a result of Artemis and Roy's special arrows. "You'll never see a trapeze act as daring as this one, folks. All done without the safety of a net!"

The mentioning of the lack of net set something off deep inside Dick, and the fragment of memories that sprung forward in his mind distracted him enough to make him let go of his bar a split second too early. But one short second was more than enough to be fatal. Instead of being caught by M'gann as planned, the error he made put a couple of centimeters in between their hands, and Dick uselessly flung his hands out in a desperate attempt to be saved.

Before he knew it, he was falling…

Tendrils of fear wrapped around his heart as he fell. This wasn't like grappling through the streets of Gotham City, this was plunging through the air towards his inevitable death. As Robin, he had gadgets designed to protect him from this specific situation, but Dick was _not_ in costume. He was only Dick Grayson now, pretending to be Dan Danger. And neither Dick nor Dan had the utility belt that Robin carried with him at all times. Being a civilian sucked.

 _"Robin!"_ M'gann's voice brought him back to his senses. He faintly caught the frightened tone the martian girl carried, but he ignored it. That was only wishful thinking. She already proved to him that she didn't care, right?

 _"Don't blow our cover,"_ he ordered, even as he came dangerously close to the ground. The sounds of the audience members' screams shook him to his very core; the sound was far too familiar for his liking.

 _"Is saving your life okay?"_ Connor retorted, flinging another barrel in his direction. Dick grunted as he was met with the sudden force, but forced himself to remain steady as he was carried up to the trapeze. As Dick came closer, he shakily stood up and stretched an arm out to meet M'gann. The redheaded girl swung in his direction, and their fingertips barely brushed before the barrel began to descend. Dick's hand shook as he started to return to the ground. Was he destined to follow his parents' footsteps and fall to his death?

Apparently not, because M'gann's eyes glowed green, and he was pulled up the few centimeters between them, finally allowing his teammate to grab his hand and swing him to safety. The audience cheered below them, and part of Dick was beyond relieved that he survived, but another part of him felt unnerved by Miss M's direct disregard for his order. _"What did I just say?"_ he asked, not too kindly. Batman's paranoia wormed its way into his conscious, and his mentor's warning ringing in his ears. Did M'gann save him because she cared, or because she wanted to spite him?

 _"The audience couldn't see me use my telekinesis from below."_ M'gann told him as they landed on a platform. The two of them turned towards the audience, putting on their best smiles as they waved at the awed spectators. Dick stole a glance at M'gann while he put up his cheerful acrobat act, and was surprised to see that the martian was putting up a facade as well. Her smile was strained, and there was a combination of longing and something that he couldn't quite place. It almost looked like guilt. _"Besides, I've been using it all night. I'm not exactly the acrobat you are."_

Dick looked down at the cheering audience members, suddenly feeling like he was suffocating. There was too much going on, and he felt like total garbage. His act stunk and he knew it, but these people didn't. They had no idea what a real trapeze artist looked like. _"Yeah, well neither am I right now,"_ he said tiredly. As his eyes swept over the inside of the tent, his eyes fell on the other platform across from them. For just a second, he could see the blurry image of two people wearing beautiful costumes, but his memory had too many holes for him to picture them perfectly.

 _"Obviously,"_ Artemis snorted, and the couple disintegrated in front of his eyes as he was forced back into the present.

 _"Cut the attitude."_ Dick wasn't in the mood to deal with yet another confusing friend _. "I caught that twenty-four hour bug that's been going around the circus."_ Beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face, but he resisted the urge to wipe them away. That would ruin the confident air of Dan Danger, and as people say, the show must go on.

xXx (Earlier, Mount Justice) xXx

"Advanced weapons tech has been stolen in several facilities across Europe," Robin told the Team, gesturing to the holographic map in front of him. Several cities were marked with a red dot to show everyone which places have been hit. "And each theft coincides with stops made by Haly's International Circus. Batman's sending us to catch the thieves."

Roy came closer to him, and Robin resisted his instinct to back away from him. Bruce had warned him to never let Roy touch him, and while Dick didn't understand his reasoning behind it, he knew better than to ignore Batman's orders. "This clown car have room for one more?" the archer asked almost cheerfully.

Robin made sure to keep his distance. "Uh… No, we've got this covered." He tried not to show how uncomfortable Roy's presence made him. If Batman was onto him for something, Dick didn't want to accidentally tip him off by acting weird.

Red Arrow's smile dropped, and he leaned closer to whisper in Robin's ear, "You've got the mission covered, but who's covering the three potential mole suspects you're bringing along?"

Dick fell silent, looking away. This mission was personal for him, and that's why he decided to leave Bruce and Wally out of it. Both of them would constantly smother him, and Dick needed to be able to lead without having someone questioning all of his actions. And even if Bruce wanted him to stay away from Roy, the archer's no nonsense personality would be the perfect rock to keep Robin grounded during the mission. "Fine," he finally agreed. "But you'll play by my rules."

"Of course." Roy frowned and after some thought, he grabbed Robin's hand and placed a small object in his palm. "if any of the others try something, open this box and press the button. I'll be alerted immediately, and I'll come help you as soon as I get the memo. Even if it's not a _teammate_ that puts you in danger, it wouldn't hurt to have."

Robin looked down at the small red container, and curled his fingers around it. Never mind the fact that he could always use his communicator if he was in any immediate danger, this was a gift from someone Bruce did not trust. So, Dick wouldn't use it. "I'll keep that in mind," he said anyways, nodding at him. "Thank you."

"...Let's just hope you won't need it."

xXx (Present) xXx

After the 'Dangers' finished their performance, the group of teens retreated backstage. Dick's legs felt like jelly, his face was hot, and he was far too dizzy for it to be possible for him to be walking around. But Dick always was one to try the impossible, and this mission was too important for him to be defeated by some germ.

"Haly, what's the deal? Giving the top slot to those Danger kids?!" Dick turned his head and spotted a _very_ familiar man speaking to a set of annoyed twins.

"That was your slot, until you missed the performance in Paris," Haly responded gruffly, trying to get past.

"Carlo was sick! He's better now!" One of them cried.

The other nodded. "Plus, those Danger kids are a sham. They say they're brothers and sisters; they don't even look alike!"

"You just don't like the competition," Haly said shortly, finally shoving past them. He only made it a couple of feet before he was stopped again, this time by a man with pure white hair. "Oh for crying out loud, not you again! We're in the middle of a show!"

"Then we'll talk after," the man said cooly. Dick glared at him; he didn't like the tone he was using with Haly. "But we will talk. Another city last week, another tech firm, another stop on _your_ tour. If I prove you're responsible, I will shut you down."

Haly stiffened and replied in a hushed tone, far too quiet for Dick's ears to pick up. He then marched out of the curtains, shoulders squared and held high as though there wasn't a single problem in the world he couldn't handle.

Frustrated, the white haired man turned his attention to the Dangers. "Interpol. You the new act?" he asked, showing them a badge to prove his authentication.

Dick bit back a spiteful reply, forcing himself to remain calm. "Yeah, just joined the tour."

"Probably clears you." He shoved his badge back into the front of his crisp suit. "But don't get too comfortable. Haly's going down for this." Without another word he turned on his heel and left, a confident and know-it-all air to his stride. Or maybe Dick was just imagining that bit because of the way he spoke to Haly?

Either way, Dick wasn't about to let this circus down.

xXx

 _"If Interpol's already on this, then why are we bothering?"_ Superboy asked through the mind link as the Team staked out the area.

 _"Because Batman said so,"_ was Robin's immediate reply. _"Why? Did you have something better to do?"_ He asked spitefully, his hurt and anger towards the alien couple finally bubbling over.

 _"How do we know the thieves will hit here?"_ Artemis questioned after a surprised moment of silence.

 _"There are_ _ **more**_ _obvious targets,"_ Red Arrow said in agreement.

 _"Interpol already has those covered. But I've analyzed the tech already stolen and the pattern suggests this is the next target."_ He sighed and rubbed his temples, closing his eyes to shoo away his pounding headache.

 _"How are you feeling?"_ M'gann asked, sounding as though she was able to sense his discomfort.

A pained smile fell into place. _"As if you care,"_ he thought quietly, forcing his eyes open so that he could go back to keeping watch _. "I'll manage just fine without your-"_

 _"Contact,"_ Superboy interrupted. _"Northeast quadrant."_ The Team turned their attention to the indicated area, and watched as a masked man used obvious acrobatic skills to scale a fence, not pausing as he continued to run as soon as his feet were back on solid ground. _"Looks like we know why Carlos missed the performance."_

 _"Could be Carlos, could be his brother. Keep an open mind."_ Robin had hoped that no one in the circus was involved in the thefts. Even though all of the performers were unfamiliar to him, he knew that they were like family in Haly's eyes. But now the Team had witnessed the obvious skills of an acrobatic, and Dick's hopes were stomped into the ground. _"Move in,"_ he ordered with a silent sigh, jumping off of the rooftop.

Superboy fell behind as the rest of the Team cut through their shadowy surroundings and hugged the wall of one of the units, all searching for a sign of the thief's whereabouts. _"Did you see where he went?"_ Dick asked the clone as he jumped down to join them.

Connor narrowed his eyes in concentration and scanned the area. After a few seconds he paused, focusing on one building in particular. _"The warehouse."_

 _"Good work."_ Part of Robin questioned how Superboy was able to pinpoint the thief's location so easily, but the stronger half of him was indifferent to it. As long as it helped Haly, he could care less. _"Let's go."_

 _"I don't need any help,"_ Superboy scoffed and pushed past him, purposely bumping his shoulder as he went. Robin recoiled as pain enveloped the area he was hit; Connor pushed just hard enough to ensure that a bruise would form. The acrobat found himself staring after the clone, feeling a sharp pang in his chest. Ignoring him was one thing, physically hurting him? That was borderline bullying. No, scratch that. That _was_ bullying.

What was going on?

 _"If you're going to come, then let's go,"_ Connor snapped at them, earning a few startled blinks. Robin pushed his depression away and replaced it with an easier emotion: anger. It wasn't fair that he was constantly being pushed around by everybody. He was acting as leader for crying out loud, he deserved some sort of respect!

 _"Get your act together or go home,"_ Robin said lowly, stomping past Connor so that he was in the lead again. _"Try something like that again, and I'll use my handy piece of kryptonite,"_ he warned, not bothering to try fixing the broken bridge between them. He had no time to play Mr. Nice Guy, not right now.

He had a circus to save.

xXx

When they entered the warehouse, it wasn't hard to find the thief rummaging through crates and trying to knab a piece of expensive technology. Robin cackled, effectively making the criminal stiffen and freeze in his tracks. "Caught red-handed!" he called, and the thief whipped around to face him. "And red-faced too, I bet."

"Acrobatics won't get you out of this one," Artemis warned, aiming an arrow at his head. The thief remained stoic and revealed to them the flaming sword he had in his possession, and waved it at them to produce a steady stream of fire. Robin shouted as he and his teammates dove for cover. The only one who remained put was Superboy, whose indestructible skin repelled the flames.

"Those crates are full of live ammo!" Roy suddenly shouted in warning. "Move!" he grabbed Robin by the back of his cape and began to pull him towards safety, but they only had time to dive behind Superboy before everything exploded all around them.

Everything momentarily went black, but Robin would be damned if he let himself fall unconscious. In front of him, Connor pushed away the rubble that barely managed to not crush them. "That guy is dead meat," he growled, charging away from the group.

"Superboy, no!" Robin shouted as Red Arrow helped him to his feet. "You have to get Miss Martian out!"

Superboy stopped, and spun around to glare at him. "He's getting away!"

"And that's more important than Miss M?" He asked weakly, nearly wavering under clone's death stare. But he wasn't about to back down when someone else's life was at risk. "The fire's killing her."

Just like that, the anger drained from Connor's face. He even looked confused by his own actions. "Right… Right." He returned to M'gann's side and lifted her up into his arms, not pausing once as he rushed her out of the crackling flames.

Now that that was out of the way, Robin could focus on other things. "Artemis, Arrow." He walked forward on shaky legs, his entire body protesting against it. "F-Find the thief…" his legs finally caved in, and he collapsed onto his hands and knees, completely breathless.

"Because he matters more than you?" Roy countered as he and the silent Artemis helped him up to his feet. "You're still out of your game, pal. We're getting you out too." The two archers pulled one of Robin's arms around each of their shoulders, and led him away from him fiery doom. Robin felt all of his resistance die out as soon as they touched him, and he went with them without a single protest.

xXx

"Another weapons plant is hit… and once again, the circus is in town. I don't believe in coincidences," the white haired Interpol agent told Haly, eyes cold.

Haly was absolutely furious. "I don't care what you believe, my people are not responsible! I did a bed check last night; every single member of my troupe was asleep in their bunks!"

 _"Well, we sure weren't,"_ Artemis pointed out. _"And if he was lying about_ _ **us**_ _…"_

Dick grit his teeth, but channelled his anger away from Artemis. It wasn't her fault that Haly was being framed for something he didn't do, and he wouldn't take it out on her. No matter how much he wanted to. _"...Come on, let's go on the train where we can talk in private."_

The Team murmured their agreements and followed him out of the tent and onto the train. Once they found an empty compartment, they had Superboy stand guard next to the door to keep an ear out for any approaching performers. _"So there are two thieves, right?"_ Artemis asked. _"The fire breather and one of the acrobats. Just in identical clothes."_

 _"Maybe not just two. Here's the Madrid security footage."_ Dick held up his holo screen for everyone to see the video, which showed a masked man pulling away the metal bars blocking a window _. "And Paris."_ He switched over to the next one, which showed a similarly dressed man balancing on telephone wires.

Roy scowled and crossed his arms. _"So the strong man and the clown too… If the entire circus is involved, Haly himself might be the mastermind."_

 _"You don't know that,"_ Dick said defensively, fixing him with a warning glare.

 _"It would explain his lies,"_ M'gann pointed out.

The frustration Dick held at bay during the entire mission finally flooded the gates. "I told you to keep an open mind!" he shouted out loud, brushing past Connor as he stormed out. How dare they blame all of this on Haly?! How could they be blind to what a kind man he was?!

Dick felt like ripping his hair out of his skull, his emotions going haywire. His mood was fluctuating at an alarming rate, and not even he could predict what he would be feeling after every minute or so. The combination of acting as leader, his friends treating him like dirt, and the messy blur of memories were all very distracting. Each one of those problems pulled his emotions around like a game of tug of war. Maybe he wasn't in the right mentality to be here right now. Perhaps he should have listened to Batman and waited until his mentor went out to investigate.

Maybe this had just been one giant mistake, coming here…

He didn't realize how far he walked until he came to a sudden halt, turning to face one of the posters hanging on the exterior of the train. Fate had it that he just so happened to come to a stop in front of _this_ poster; The Flying Graysons poster. Immediately, all of his other problems were pushed to the far corner of his mind, and he stared at the cartoon figures sorrowfully. Even in a drawing, the outlines of his family looked perfectly graceful in their flight. Even the smallest figure, which he knew to be himself was casted in such a way that he nearly believed that the child was as good as the others.

But he knew otherwise… Dick would never live up to his parents' names. He had given up any thoughts of being a trapeze artist a long time ago, and had chosen to spend his time taking down criminals twice his size. And while he was sure that his parents would be proud of him no matter what he did, he couldn't help but feel as though he let them down somehow.

Maybe it was because he held almost no memory of them.

Just before Dick could lose himself in thought, his earpiece made a quiet beeping noise. Dick sighed and pressed the button that picked up the call. "Yes?"

 _"Dude, where are you?"_ Wally asked from the other end.

"Confidential mission from Batman," he lied, though it sounded unbelievable even to his own ears. He was too exhausted to keep up yet another act.

 _"Wow. You know what I'm doing? Making a bologna sandwich, kinda like how you just did."_ The speedster sounded slightly annoyed by Dick's feeble lie. _"I talked to Tornado; you guys are not on a mission. Not an official one, anyway."_

Dick forced his eyes away from his family poster, and continued his walk. "A friend, Jack Haly."

A pause. _"The circus guy? He was around during your Flying Grayson days, right?"_

"Yeah." He was glad that Wally knew about his past; he didn't realize it before, but he needed to talk to somebody that understood his pain. "He's caught up in an international crime scheme. Someone in the show is dirty, but I need to prove old Jack's clean or he might lose the circus."

 _"Then why not bring me along? I know your backstory; I know what that circus means to you."_ He sounded concerned for the young acrobat. _"You might not have all of your memories, but even you know that's where you lost your-"_

"I left you behind _because_ you know my backstory," Dick interrupted before he could finish that sentence. "I didn't want my best pal questioning my objectivity."

 _"Dude… That's what a best friend is for."_ Dick didn't know what to say to that, so Wally spoke again _, "Listen, when you get back we need to talk. Batman came by earlier and was_ _ **pissed**_ _when he found out you ran off. I guess he figured out where you went… But that's besides the point. He told me to keep you away from sharp objects when you came back if he wasn't here. Was he implying what I think he was?"_

Dammit. Did Bruce ever keep his mouth shut when it actually mattered? He promised him, didn't he?! "Look, I-" A human shaped shadow passed over him, and he spun around on instinct, catching a glimpse of orange and black before he blinked. After his eyes opened, there was nothing to be seen. "...I gotta go." Dick practically stabbed the disconnect button on his comm, Wally's worried protests being cut short. Blue eyes flickered around his surroundings warily, but there was no sign of the one-eyed mercenary.

Great. Now he was seeing things.

Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Dick trudged back in the direction he came from. Of course he thought he saw Deathstroke, his emotions were all over the place and his stress induced brain must have conjured up the image of his most feared enemy. That was a sign that _someone_ needed some sleep…

xXx

After yet another performance, the troupe worked together to load their cargo onto the train, and then they all filed an board to be carried off to their next destination. The Team returned to the car they occupied before, though tension was high in the small group. "Er… You look better," Artemis told him, but then paused. A flicker of fear came over her eyes before she turned away. "Not that I care," she added on, her voice losing the warmth it held before.

"I feel better," Dick replied stiffly, avoiding the gazes of the rest of the Team.

"Yeah? Well you gave whatever you had to M'g- Dawn," Connor growled.

"That's not fair," M'gann said tiredly. "He didn't know that a martian could be vulnerable to a human virus. It's not his fault."

 _"Stop,"_ He thought towards her, eyes flashing in a subtle warning _. "Quit ignoring me one second then turning around and being nice the next. I'm under enough stress as it is without having to keep track of your mood swings."_

 _"...I'll stop being nice, then,"_ was her soft reply, but her sad tone confused him greatly. She was acting like she didn't want to be mean to him, but that made absolutely no sense. Why would she act this way if she had no desire to?

Ack. It didn't matter anyways. All that mattered right now was the circus. "When did you start feeling sick?" he asked, pretending that their mental conversation didn't happen.

"After boarding the train," She said quietly, picking at the bench she was laid across. "It came suddenly."

"Same with me the other night," Dick replied, the cogs in his head processing this information rapidly. "I remember Ray rubbed my head for good luck right before we went on." Yeah, and that had been entirely too awkward. The only person Dick let ruffle his hair like Ray did was Bruce. Dick wasn't a big fan on being touched by a stranger; he rarely engaged in hugs with his _friends_.

Well, his ex-friends.

Connor's head snapped up. "Ray? That roustabout? He touched her right before we boarded. Guy must be a walking petri dish."

"Yeah…" Dick rubbed his chin and activated his computer chip to check something in his databases. "Yeah, maybe." A series of information came up behind his eyes, and Dick quickly left the compartment without any form of explanation. He half ran, half stumbled over to Haly, who stood in the middle of the hall.

"Dan," he greeted cheerfully. "You look refreshed."

Dick grinned up at him. "Thanks. Uh, Jack, how long has Ray worked for you?"

Haly's friendly smile fell. "...I picked him up at the start of the European tour. Poor lad's down with the same flu as the rest of them."

"We'll check up on him," Artemis said from behind Dick. "It's the least we can do."

Haly shrugged nonchalantly. "If you insist."

M'gann left their train compartment to follow the other, but Dick stopped her. "You should rest," he told her, not able to help but be concerned over her well-being. Even if she hated for him for the rest of his life…

Dick had a feeling that no matter how much he fought against it, he would always care for her.

"...I'll manage." She avoided meeting his gaze and she followed the rest of the Team. Dick frowned and went after her, waving to Haly as he left.

When the teens entered Ray's room, it was evident that the blonde wasn't home. "Huh, I guess he wasn't _that_ sick," Connor snarled.

Roy scanned the room for any clues, his eyes eventually landing on a lone crate. "Does this circus have an elephant I don't know about?" he asked, pointing to the label.

"Not on foreign tours…" Dick came to stand next to the redhead and helped him lift the lid of the crate off.

"Empty... No, wait." Arrow wiped his finger on the inside of the crate, and it came back covered in black dust. "Ash."

"From the warehouse and fire earlier…" Dick saw the puzzle pieces come together in front of his very eyes. He had a good idea of what was going on now, if the information on his chip could be trusted, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

"Uh, guys?" Everyone turned towards Artemis, who held up a familiar looking mask above her face. It looked just like… "I found Ray."

Dick narrowed his eyes. They had a suspect now, and there was no way that he would be getting away this time! "Split up! Search the whole train!" he shouted, his tone leaving no room for argument.

xXx

A few minutes later, Dick found himself on high alert as he crept through the hallway. "Mmph!" he heard nearby, and he stopped to listen. That was the unmistakable sound of someone who had been gagged, and this person was definitely not happy about it. With a determined expression, Dick barged into the room that the noise originated from, his eyes frantically moving across the dark room. It didn't take long to spot a bound Haly crouched, and Dick rushed to his aid. "Who did this to you?" he asked lowly, removing the gag.

"Ray!" the man shouted as soon as he was able, looking furious. "Ray the Roustabout! Right after we left!" Dick growled dangerously and took off, ignoring the ringmaster's cry of, "Hey, I'm not Houdini here!" as he left Haly tied up. Dick shook his head; he would be safer if he stayed where he was.

 _"M'gann,"_ he tried through the mind link but it didn't seem to with their distance, which was strange. Miss Martian was able to pull off greater distances before… "Dawn," he tried again, using his communicator this time.

 _"Uh… Dan?"_

Dick frowned. "I tried to reach you the other way…"

 _"Ugh. I think the flu made me too weak to use my 'other way' if we're not within a couple of feet of each other."_ She sounded miserable.

Oh yeah, he definitely knew what was going on. "That might complicate things," He muttered before switching links. "Dane, Dean, Diane! We're chasing someone who stole Dawn's _act_. Her whole shtick if you catch my drift."

 _"I got him!"_ Connor shouted. _"But he's onto me. Exiting dining car now!"_ There was the sound of shuffling, and then wind. _"He's gone topside!"_ Dick nodded to himself and made a break for the nearest exit. The harsh wind whipped his hair in all directions as he climbed up to the rooftop of the train. "That won't work on me, clown!" he heard Connor say as he finally pulled himself up to the top.

"That's no clown." Dick pointed at the imposter angrily. "That's Parasite, the guy who once stole Superman's powers!" Thank you, computer chip.

The fake clown chuckled. "As if you kids are who you claim to be. Please!" He threw his head back, and Dick grimaced as the man's face distorted and turned into a dark shade of purple.

"Stay out of his reach!" Robin warned Connor. "There's no flu going around. From what my databases say, the weak feeling comes from physical contact because he feeds off of the powers and abilities of others."

"I have been a bit of a glutton today. Chowed down on nearly every loser in this troupe…" The man grinned. "Oh, the absolute best was you and Dawn Danger, or whatever her real name is. I thought I would munch on her trapeze skills, but imagine my surprise when she tasted like Martian Manhunter." He then turned his gaze to Robin, eyeing him almost hungrily. "Or maybe you tasted best, with your delicious skill that gave me the ability to _feel_ technology. It certainly made finding the part in the warehouse easier!" At this point in time, the entire Team was now present. "You both made a lovely appetizer, but guess who I want for my entree?" He thrusted his hand out towards Superboy, and used his new telekinesis ability to pull the clone into his grasp. "Mm! Now that's the kryptonian flavor I love!"

Dick curled his hands into fists. "Everyone stay whelmed!" he barked out. "Subdue, but keep your distance!" Artemis and Red aimed their arrows at the opponent, but their gear was turned to ashes when Parasite used his new heat vision.

"You know, I almost never say this... but I'm sated. Gotta run!" He then began to fly away from the group, his trunk levitating in the air behind him. As a last ditch effort, Robin jumped onto the trunk and lunged for the villain, but he was halted mid-air. "Sorry, no hitch hikers." he smirked as Robin struggled to escape from his invisible grip. "How about a taste of your own medicine, kid?"

 **"Behavior control activated."** His chip suddenly informed him, and he barely had time to mentally scream _NO_ before volts of electricity were suddenly coursing through his entire body.

"Mmm. You're hacking ability might come in handy." Parasite chuckled and threw him back down, using his camouflage mode to escape unseen. Robin crashed into the train at full force, but that was nothing compared to the pain of being electrocuted. He gasped and curled up on his side weakly.

"Robin!" M'gann was the first one to appear at his side. "What- how is he doing this?! What do we do?!" she reached out to touch him but recoiled when the skin to skin contact have her a shock.

"Deactivate!" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs, but his chip did not obey. Dick ground his teeth together to prevent himself from making any noise, the pain becoming too much to bare. If this didn't stop soon, he would pass out.

And after that…

Artemis and the other two teens soon joined Miss M. "He wasn't lying…" the blonde archer whispered to herself, horrified. Dick might have been curious to what she was talking about if it wasn't for the unbelievable amount of pain he was in.

"How do we stop this?!"

 **"Command overridden: Code DS13. Behavior control deactivated."** The flow of electricity came to a sudden stop, and Robin gasped for breath.

"What the hell happened?!" Roy demanded as he sat up.

"I...I just got hacked." He blinked rapidly, banishing the black dots in his vision. He then carefully brought himself back up to his feet, ignoring Red's protests that he needed to rest. "I'll be fine. Behavior control is something I've dealt with before. I haven't died from it yet." He looked at Connor, missing the way Artemis flinched at his words. "How are you up right now? Parasite just took more power than you even have! I mean, heat vision?"

"I have the genetic potential for it. That must've been enough for him." he rose his eyebrows. "What's behavior control?"

Dick waved an impatient hand. "Electrocution when you do something wrong or disobey a direct order." There was a collective look of alarm shared between his teammates, but he brushed it off. They had time to discuss his not so fun Master later, but they had more important things on hand. He looked in the direction Parasite flew off in, sighing in self disapproval. He was so close to saving the circus…

Well, at least Parasite didn't have the ability to be able to tell when someone pick-pocketed him.

xXx

Back inside the train, Robin showed everyone the flashdrive he swiped. "Well, it's not a complete disaster. I managed to pick Parasite's pocket, and got this." He plugged the drive into his glove, which automatically went past the security protecting it and pulled all of the data up. "It looks like Parasite is working for Intergang. Everything he's stolen, they're pieces of something. They're putting together a weapon that can create…" his eyes widened in alarm. "Black holes?!"

"Oh, come on," Arrow scoffed. "To build that, you would need a Particle Accelerator."

"Like the large Boson collider in Geneva?" Robin suggested dryly.

"...The circus' next stop. But now that Parasite can fly, he has a big head start on us!" Red grumbled, seething.

"Sorry," M'gann said softly from where she was on the bench.

Robin ignored her. "This thing could wipe out entire cities." he stood. "We need to hurry."

Roy grabbed his spare gear from the luggage rack. "You and _I_ need to hurry. You don't use your powers enough to become an inconvenient without them, and I don't have any period. Between the two of us, Parasite doesn't stand a chance."

Artemis pulled out her spare gear as well. "Hey, you're not the only one with a back up bow," she argued.

A sudden bang made all heads snap around to see Superboy pull his fist away from a newly formed hole in the wall. "My powers are back!"

"How-"

"I guess Kryptonians recover faster than humans or Martians," Superboy said in a near growl. "Still think I'm a inconvenience?" This was snarled towards Robin, who felt the sudden urge to step backwards. Superboy looked like he was ready to attack him. Robin thought the clone's behavior was just spiteful towards him before, but now it was like he was a whole different person. Connor would never hurt him… would he?

"Enough," Arrow ordered, pushing Robin behind him in a protective manner. "You can come, but only if you keep your temper under control. If you want to be mad, be mad at _me_ , the person who actually made the comment."

"...Fine," Superboy managed to spit out.

Miss M put her hands on her hips. "Well don't you even think about leaving me behind!" She gave Artemis and Superboy a brilliant grin, and the two weakly returned it. Robin watched from behind Arrow, his insides twisting painfully. He had no idea what was going on with those three, but he knew that nothing good would come from their behavior. Someone could even get hurt if they kept it up.

And it looked like _he_ would be that someone.

xXx

When the Team arrived at the scene, all doubts of where Parasite was died out when they found a couple of unconscious guards outside. Robin knelt down next to one of them and tilted his head to the side, finding a destroyed communications device in his ear. Looked like Parasite _did_ find his abilities useful. "Trail of destruction leads this way," he whispered, leading them inside. Once they entered the room that held the controls for the collider, the Team crouched in the shadows to safely observe Parasite. "We need to take him down. Or, lure him away so we can disengage the-" Apparently to Superboy that meant blindly charge at the enemy, because the clone did exactly that. "No, wait!"

Parasite smirked when he saw who was rushing towards him, and used his telekinesis to lift him off of his feet and pull him closer. Once Superboy was within arms reach, he slammed his fist into the side of Parasite's face. The villain was pushed back a few feet, but he quickly retaliated and pushed Superboy off of his feet.

Red readied an arrow. "What's _wrong_ with-"

Miss M held up a hand. "Wait," she whispered. "I have an idea." Robin, Roy, and Artemis listened to her explanation as they watched Connor be tossed around the room like a ragdoll, before being pulled right back into Parasite's grasp.

"Ohh, what a rush." He grinned at his squirming captive. "How do you do it, kid? Not even Superman recharged this fast!" Superboy went completely limp, and Parasite threw him to the side. "Alright Dangers, come on out. Only a couple of minutes until this baby's done warming up. And then it's bye bye Geneva!"

"What do you think?" M'gann asked after she told everyone her idea, biting on her bottom lip.

Red Arrow looked uncertain. "Pretty big risk to take on just a theory," he mumbled, sneaking a glance at Parasite. "I don't think-"

"Do it," Robin ordered, interrupting whatever argument Roy was going to make against the idea. They needed to end this battle now before innocent people were killed. "Go."

M'gann nodded stiffly, and left the safety of the darkness to confront Parasite. "What do you have against Geneva anyways?"

"Never liked the food," Parasite told her with his usual hungry smirk. "But the menu keeps improving!" He then used his Martian abilities to pull her towards him, like he had done to Superboy so many times.

"I'm just the appetizer, remember?" Miss M ducked in the last second to avoid being caught, then spun around to deliver a kick to his abdomen to knock him down. "Here's the main course!" An arrow shot out of the rafters and landed on Parasite's chest, a thick pink foam appearing out of thin air and nearly covering his body from head to toe.

"Foam?! You think _foam_ can hold me!?" His eyes glowed green, and Red Arrow was lifted out of the rafters and held into the air. "Or crushing your bones with a single thought?! Combined Martian and Kryptonian powers here!" He flexed his muscles, managing to break a fair portion of his foamy prison.

Robin barely glanced over his shoulder as he continued working on the collider's controls. While Miss Martian and Arrow were fighting Parasite, that gave him the perfect opening to sneak over to the control panel and do what he does best; hack. "Do any of those powers free you before I sabotage your death thingy?" He taunted, eyes glued to the screen as he worked.

"This one does!" Robin was forced to roll away from the computer as Parasite shot at him with his new heat vision. The acrobat reminded himself to stop taunting the man; if he was pissed enough, he could take Robin down in a single move. And if Parasite focused enough to notice the piece of technology Robin had in his head, he could make it explode like he had with the guards' earpieces, and that wouldn't be pretty. Robin didn't want his brains splattered everywhere, thanks.

Artemis was forced to move out of the way as well, for she became the next target of Parasite's lasers. As she rolled out of range, she fired one last arrow at their enemy. Gas spewed out from the projectile, creating a cloud around the villain that soon bursted into flames due to the massive amounts of heat in the area. The fire made Parasite lose his invisible grip on Roy, and the archer fell to the floor with a pained grunt.

"So clever…" The villain said sarcastically. "Tricked me into igniting flammable gas. But you forgot, doofus' double dose of Kryptonian powers makes me immune! Fire... can't... touch me...?" He sounded confused by his sudden weakness, and his legs shook as he forced them to support his entire weight.

"Unless you make a meal out of _my_ powers," Miss Martian told him smugly. "And get my weaknesses as a side dish!"

Parasite's eyes widened in realization. "No!" he cried, and his muscles caved in. He fell into a heap on the ground in the middle of the flames, falling unconscious the moment he touched the concrete.

"Aww, poor baby. Something you ate?" The Martian teased. Robin ignored them both and returned to his spot at the control panel, finishing the work he had already put into it earlier, and successfully turned the facility's power off. The collider made one last hum before falling silent, unable to continue creating the black hole it was ordered to.

"We'll take it from here," someone said behind him, and as he turned around he saw the Interpol agent from before come inside with a couple of his men, kneeling down next to Parasite to snap a metal collar around his neck. "Thanks for the tip, by the way. Definitely helps to prep the inhibitor collar in advance."

Robin smiled politely, but it held no warmth. He was biased against the man after the way he had blindly accused Haly of being the mastermind, but he reminded himself that he was just doing his job. "Happy to be of service." The man nodded and waved a hand at the other two, and the three of them began to escort Parasite out of the building.

Finally…

Robin's shoulders relaxed, and he turned to face his teammates, but then a shadow passed over him. Dick immediately spun to face where it should have originated from, which happened to be high in the shadowy rafters. Was it just a flicker of light, or did he really see a human shaped figure over there?

"There is no mole," he heard Roy say, and that's what pulled him out of his thoughts. He gave the archer a curious glance, and saw the redhead smiling at M'gann, Connor, and Artemis, and all three of them returned the warmth. Robin looked away again, breathing heavily out of his nose. If his mission had been a success, then why did he feel worse than before?

xXx

"So… the show will go on." Haly beamed at Dick radiantly, enthusiastic over the news that he would be able to keep his circus. "And I have a feeling I have you Dangers to thank."

Dick mimicked his expression. "Dunno what you mean."

Haly chuckled good naturely. "'Course not. But, I'm guessing you'll be leaving now?" he offered Dick a hand, to which he took without hesitation.

"Time to move on," he said softly, looking away to bring his emotions under control. He didn't realize it before, but he didn't _want_ to leave. He wanted to stay here, where the environment was always warm and welcoming… the place that he grew up in. He couldn't remember much from his Flying Grayson days, but the faint fuzzy feeling in the back of his head was enough for him to tell that he had a wonderful experience here. And a part of him wanted to run away from his problems and live with the circus for the rest of his life.

But the bigger part of him knew that his only place in the world was with the Justice League; with Batman. There was no where else that he belonged.

"Well, Dick… I'll certainly miss you."

It took a second for Dick to process the sound of his name, but when he did his eyes widened. "It's Dan, Dan Danger," he protested weakly.

Haly shook his head and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Son, you've grown, but some things never change. Like the sight of a Grayson on a trapeze." Dick's eyes watered. "You can't fake it, can't hide it."

Dick pulled back, almost like a startled animal. "I don't even remember those days," he murmured. "As far as I'm concerned, that part of me has been gone for a while."

Haly smiled at him warmly. "Mr. Wayne told me about your amnesia, but that doesn't bother me one bit. When I look at you, I still see the energetic boy that used to light up the room wherever he went." Dick shook his head weakly, but Haly cut through his next protest. "Sure, he may be a little lost right now, and buried under layers of hurt and sadness, but I know he's in there somewhere."

"..." Dick found himself completely speechless, and all that he could do was throw his arms around Haly in a desperate hug. The man didn't hesitate to return the hug, and the familiarity of it made Dick completely relax.

"I know you have to go Dick… But would you do an old ringmaster one last favor?"

Tears burned Dick's eyes, and he nodded shortly, not trusting his voice. How could he ever deny Haly anything when he was the only one he knew from his faded memories? And besides, he had a feeling that he knew what Haly was going to ask.

And Dick had no argument against being airborne one last time.

xXx (Later…) xXx :(

"I don't understand why you agreed to a farewell performance," Connor grumbled as the 'Daring Dangers' took one final bow for their audience before returning to backstage one final time.

"It would've looked suspicious otherwise. I mean, Parasite gets caught by a group of mysterious teenagers one night, and we leave at the same time? Anyone would be able to connect those dots." Dick shrugged. "Besides, Haly was very insistent, and I didn't see it would be a problem."

"It doesn't matter if the Dangers were connected to Parasite! They're only aliases that we used for this mission only," Roy scowled. "And besides, we have plenty of other things we could be doing other than play dress up."

Dick rubbed his temples, feeling the small thud of a headache coming on. "Whatever. Look, I need some air. We can leave once I get back." he turned around and began to stalk outside. As soon as he stepped foot out of the circus tent, the biting cold sent shivers down his spine. He wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion, but he was more than capable of dealing with it. Besides, he wanted to see the Flying Grayson poster one last time before he went back into hero mode.

The crunch of snow under his feet was the only noticeable sound as he trudged towards the train, the buzzing of thoughts in his head growing stronger as he came closer to his destination. He had felt totally free spirited when he was on the trapeze in this last performance, and he felt the ghost of his former self return to him as he flew through the air with quiet laughter. But as soon as he touched the ground again, his problems returned to him. There was no escaping reality, was there? Not unless he actually ran away with the circus…

But he wasn't a coward. Running away wouldn't sit right with the young bird.

"I think I'm due for a costume change…" he mumbled as he approached a different Grayson poster. This one had an actual picture of the acrobatic family, and all of them wore uniforms of red and yellow. Maybe Robin could incorporate those colors with his current ones, and just keep the black exterior of his cape. Oh, and he could also afford to lose the hood. It wasn't like he used it much anyways.

"I agree," A very _familiar_ voice spoke up from behind him, and Dick stopped like a deer caught in headlights. A full three seconds passed before he was able to work past his suffocating terror and turn around. Leaning against a nearby truck, arms crossed over his chest, was Deathstroke. "I believe orange and black would suit you more."

When Dick nearly fell to his doom during the first performance, he of course felt fear, but that was nothing compared to the paralyzing terror he was now faced with. His heart raced inside of his chest, blue eyes glued to Deathstroke's form as he hoped against all hope that he was simply a hallucination, and would fade away.

There was no such luck.

"What's wrong? Surprised to see me?" He pushed himself off of the side of the truck. "I wouldn't miss my _apprentice's_ performance for the world." He stepped forward, but Dick was frozen from fear. He willed his feet to obey his commands, but they remained where they were, unable to aid him in his desperately needed escape.

"Help-" He tried to shout, but Deathstroke was suddenly in front of him, pressing a hand against his mouth to keep him silent.

"Now, now, don't do anything stupid," the man whispered dangerously. "What if a circus member were to hear you, and came to investigative? I wouldn't want to have to kill them." Dick stumbled away from him, but Deathstroke's grip made it impossible for him to move. "Hm. If your little friends were to show up, it would cut our little talk short, wouldn't it?" he shook his head and plucked the communication device out of Robin's ear, holding it in front of the boy's face so that he could see him crush it in his hand. He then sprinkled it on the ground, and released his captive. "Now we can speak without interruption."

Robin's terror increased tenfold, and he knew he was seconds away from a full on panic attack. _"Miss Martian!"_ he mentally shouted, desperate. _"Help! It's Deathstroke!"_ He received no response from his teammate, and he realized with growing dread that her powers were still out of commission.

"Judging by the look on your face, I assume you tried the telepathy?" Deathstroke sounded amused, and not angry surprisingly. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't take in all of the variables before I approached you? I must say, I'm disappointed."

"... Screw you," Robin said weakly, raising his chin to look Deathstroke in the eye. All he wanted to do was panic; fall onto the ground and cry until the problem was gone, but that wouldn't do. He had to protect himself this time. "If you try to kidnap me-"

"Why would I do that if you'll come with me willingly?" Deathstroke asked, tilting his head. "That would be a complete waste of time."

Dick was taken aback by the confident tone Deathstroke used. Why did he sound like he knew something that he didn't? It was like he thought that there was absolutely no way that Dick could possibly say no to leaving with him. "I would never go with you willingly."

"Is that right?" There was a soft chuckle, and the man reached into one of his belt slots. Dick tensed, expecting some sort of weapon to be used against him, so he was quite surprised when Deathstroke simply brought out a black hard drive. "I think all of the information I hold in my hand will be enough to change your mind about that."

Robin found himself squinting at the small device. What could he possibly have on there that could make him switch sides? "Yeah, right." He snorted, some of his confidence slowly returning to him. If he just treated Deathstroke like any other villain, then maybe he could make himself forget all of the things the man did to him. "I would never-"

"Wallace West."

Blue eyes widened under his circus mask. "What did you just say?"

Deathstroke continued speaking as though he didn't hear him, "Wallace West, Megan Morse, Connor Kent, Artemis Crock… I know the names of every sidekick you've ever befriended." He sounded pleased with himself. "And using this information, I was able to deduce quite a few of the Justice League's identities, such as Barry Allen, and Clark Kent." Dick took a shaky step backwards, but Deathstroke grabbed his shoulder in a tight grip. The boy gasped in pain, but the mercenary did nothing to lessen it. In fact, Robin swore he could feel him tighten his grip. "A lot of the Leaguers' identities were intriguing, but no one surprised me more than Bruce Wayne." Dick froze as that name was spoken, the silent cry of no echoing in his head. Not Bruce... anyone but Bruce. "Who would've guessed that the famous Batman was just a billionaire crying about his dead parents?"

At those words, the shock of the situation instantly wore off, replaced by rage. "Don't talk about him like that!" he snarled, wrenching himself free from the man's death grip. "Bruce is twice the man you'll ever be!"

The assassin's good mood dispersed. "Watch your tone with me, Renegade," He said in a warning tone, sending shivers down his spine. Robin immediately obeyed and snapped his mouth shut, the months of punishments for disobedience now fresh in his mind. He felt disgusted by himself for falling under that habit again, but he was too frightened to do anything but listen. "Good…" the way he spoke sounded like he was awarding a dog, and a flare of anger made Robin ball his hands into fists. "Now then, the information I have here would be greatly appreciated by my fellow criminals, and I'm sure I would have more money than your pathetic mentor if I were to sell it."

"...How do you even know about them?" Dick asked quietly.

"Who did you think you were downloading information for?" Deathstroke asked in a condescending tone.

Robin gasped, mouth falling open. "T-That was my mission? To collect information on the Justice League for you?!" he couldn't believe it, even though he had been suspicious that he was the mole for a while now. But hearing it being said out loud...

A harsh slap to his face made his entire head snap to the side, and the stinging sensation on the cheek that was hit made his eyes burn. "Don't be an idiot," Deathstroke hissed, sounding unconcerned for the pain he brought the boy. "If that was your mission, do you think I would keep this information to myself? No, your purpose was something much more important."

Dick couldn't resist the temptation to rub his stinging face, shaken to the core that he had just been slapped. Being punched by an enemy was one thing, but being hit like that by someone who used to train him was another. Bruce would never do that to him, ever. This was only a reminder that life as Deathstroke's apprentice would be nothing but painful. And now that he was being blackmailed into going with him, he couldn't help but feel even more scared. What would Deathstroke do to him?

Robin squeezed his eyes shut, shoving his hands into his coat pockets and lowering his head. Damn it, what could he do- Wait.

His fingers brushed against a small cube in his pocket, and he fought to keep his face stoic. Roy's box. He could contact Red Arrow!

"Now, we don't have all day. I have work to do, and I believe a punishment for attitude is in order." He released the boy's shoulder, and took one step back. "Let's go."

Dick slowly opened the small container, and jammed his thumb into the button. Immediately, Deathstroke stiffened and roughly grabbed him by the arm. "What did you do?!" Dick didn't reply beyond the pained gasp he let out, and Deathstroke angrily reached into his pocket and yanked the small box out of his grasp. When he pulled it out and saw what it was, he was beyond furious. "You… _ungrateful_ …" All Robin saw was a blur of black before something collided with his nose, and the force of impact was enough to knock him off of his feet. Warm blood pooled out of his likely broken nose, but he was unable to think much of it after a steel toed boot was rammed into his ribcage.

"Deathstroke, stop!" he gasped, curling into a tight ball as another kick was aimed at his chest.

The assassin growled at him lowly, and knelt down to scoop him up by his throat, and held him high in the air. Dick clawed at the hand as his windpipe was unable to carry oxygen to his lungs, and his legs kicked out uselessly below him. Deathstroke brought him closer to himself, fury written in his one eye. "You are only delaying the inevitable. This time, I'll let you get away, but next time… a stunt like this will ensure that I reveal all of your loved ones' identities."

"ROBIN!" Came the sound of several frantic voices, and the crunching noise of footsteps came closer to the area Deathstroke and Robin occupied. "Let him go!"

Dick's vision started to blur, for he was still being denied the precious air he needed. Deathstroke finally released his grip on him, and he fell to the ground in a heap. "Say your goodbyes while you can, Renegade," he said lowly.

The Team was suddenly in between the two of them, each of their bodies stiff as they stared Deathstroke down. "Stay the hell away from him," Roy snarled, raising his fists in a threatening manner. But, as it was, he didn't have his bow and arrows on him, and that brought him to a disadvantage.

"Guys…" Robin managed to choke out, his throat aching.

"Oh god, your neck!" Artemis spun around and knelt down at his side, gently touching his bruised neck. Robin weakly hissed at the contact, screwing his eyes shut.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, archer. We wouldn't want poor 'Robin' to get hurt, would we?" Deathstroke asked mockingly, and Artemis immediately retreated. "Be seeing you, Renegade. Please pass along my greeting to your mentor…" Dick's eyes opened again just in time to witness a smoke pellet drop to the ground, and a cloud of grey covered the area. When it cleared, Deathstroke was no where to he found.

"Bastard." Roy spun around and crouched next to Robin, eyeing him warily. "He's gone. You're safe now."

"..." Dick simply closed his eyes again, ignoring the trail of blood that dripped into his mouth. God, he was tired. While his wounds were extremely painful, he was more mentally tired than he was physically. Every word, every punch, every kick Deathstroke dealt against him, it only ripped apart the careful walls Dick put up to protect himself from any emotional pain. But now those walls were gone, and he felt…

 _Broken._

xXx (Some time later...) xXx

Batman was beyond furious when the Team filed into the Mountain, his unconscious protege safely tucked away in Roy's arms. No, he wasn't mad at the Team, even though they went on an unofficial mission. That could easily be blamed on Dick himself; they probably had no idea that they were never actually given orders to save the circus. Bruce wasn't even angry with Robin, even though the teen had disobeyed a direct order.

No, Batman was furious with one person alone; Deathstroke.

According to the Team, Robin went outside for some air after their final performance, showing signs of a developing headache. About twenty minutes later, Roy received his distress signal and the Team rushed to their teammate's aid, only to find the acrobat trapped in Deathstroke's death grip around his throat. After that, the villain easily escaped, and Robin fell unconscious.

And now, Robin was laying on a medical table in medbay, his nose now back in place, gauze wrapped around his torso, and eye grabbing finger-shaped bruises on his neck. Batman watched the rise and fall of the teen's chest for a while, mentally reminding himself how close he was to losing this child. If the Team arrived a minute later, or if Roy didn't think to give him the device he did, who knows what state Dick would be in now. Would he even be alive? Was Deathstroke's goal to kill him?

"Maestru…" Dick mumbled, eyes flickering behind closed lids.

Bruce swallowed hard; Dick only ever spoke his native tongue when he was completely out of it like he was now, but the word he had used shook him. Deathstroke was haunting him even when he was asleep. "El nu este aici," he said softly. "Esti in siguranta."

"Bine, Tati…" He went still again, and Bruce continued to stand vigil at his side. When Dick was fully awake and aware of his surroundings, they would have to talk about what happened out there for sure. But for now, Batman had to stay as close as he could to the injured teen, or he might do something drastic.

Like break his no kill rule.

xXx

 **AN: Here are some translations...**

 **Maestru: Master**

 **El nu este aici: He is not here**

 **Esti in siguranta: You are safe**

 **Bine, Tati: Okay, Dad…**

 **(Feel free to correct me if these translations are wrong.)**

 **Thank you all for your reviews from last chapter. See you next time! :D**


	24. Falling Grayson

**AN: *loud groan* Okay, so now that** ** _I'm_** **done dealing with these feels, TAKE THEM. And if you want my head by the end of the chapter, then whatever. I'll be waiting at the guillotine.**

 **Enjoy. .**

xXx

"Everything I've done, everything I've worked for... It was all for nothing." Dick stared at his reflection, looked passed the bruises on his neck and his healing nose, finally seeing what he was for the first time; a failure. He was no better than the scum of the Earth, the evil that the Justice League fought so hard against. Because even though Dick _knew_ that he was a danger to everyone he ever met, he never did a single thing to stop it, because he was selfish. He didn't want to lose anyone's trust or friendship, so he ignored the biggest threat in the League's security; himself.

 _"Who did you_ _ **think**_ _you were downloading information for?"_ Deathstroke's words rang in his head, making it difficult to focus on anything but their last encounter. Frankly, Dick didn't have an answer to that. During the entire time he played the hero role, he always pushed his programming to the shadowy corner of his thoughts. Yes, a part of him was always aware of the danger he brought to his friends, but a bigger part of him didn't _acknowledge_ it. And now that Deathstroke had said it out loud, all that Dick could focus on was the information he gathered on the Justice League.

Robin had been the mole. And now there was no going back to how things used to be.

The Team and Batman were in an overprotective frenzy when Robin first came to, and they had all demanded that he told them what occurred between him and Deathstroke before the Team arrived to save him. Dick refused to tell them what happened; there was absolutely no point in recalling the events. Dick already had his fate sealed, and he would have to return to Deathstroke eventually, no matter what the Team or the JLA did. The man had every bit of information Robin had ever recorded, and even more data on top of that. If Dick didn't obey Deathstroke the next time they met in battle, everyone Dick cared about would be in harms way.

So Dick accepted that he would become Deathstroke's apprentice, and decided that when the time came for him to switch sides, he would do so without any form of resistance.

Everything seemed like a meaningless blur to him now, so he didn't even hesitate to break his promise to Bruce when he returned to the Manor. Everything else that was on his mind became hazy as well; it didn't matter that M'gann, Artemis, and Connor were ignoring him. He didn't care that he technically had a date with his crush in a few weeks, because why would that mean anything if he would be under Deathstroke's command when the time came? His obsession with making Bruce proud of him? Meaningless. School work? Who cared? Even the failsafe seemed to fade away...

Dick looked away from his reflection, feeling an emptiness that he was unfamiliar with, but found that the numbness was a better alternative to the emotional pain he _could_ be feeling. Anything would be a better alternative to what he was planning on doing...

Even death.

xXx (A Few Days Later; Wally) xXx

The Team gathered around the large television screen, watching the Justice League ceremony with a combination of emotions. On one hand, it was totally cool to watch the newest members officially join the roster, but on the other hand, the younger heroes felt as though they deserved to be out there, and not stuck watching from the sidelines. When would the League give them the treatment they deserved?

 _"The Justice League was formed for two reasons. First, as an acknowledgement that no single individual, no matter how powerful, can solve the world's problems on their own. And second, to uphold the values of truth, liberty and justice."_ Superman gave a small smile. _"That, uh, last one's even in the name."_ Wally scoffed as the audience laughed at Superman's lame joke. Come on, seriously? Even Batman had better jokes than that! Not sensing the speedster's disappointment in him, Superman turned towards the heroes besides him. _"These five heroes have sworn to uphold those values."_

The news camera moved to film a blonde reporter. _"You are watching live coverage of the Justice League's induction of its five newest members. Looks like the entire League showed up to welcome the new blood. Everyone, from Batman to Captain Marvel."_

"I'm glad they didn't kick Billy out," Wally commented through a bite of apple. "And I love the fact that there's a ten year old in the League."

"There is?" A dark skinned girl, Rocket, asked from besides him. Wally almost forgot that she was even there; she had been almost silent the entire time she waited with the Team inside the Hall.

Irritated, Robin elbowed him in the side. "Way to keep a secret, genius," the dark haired boy growled out, jaw set in a dead serious expression.

"Hey, she's on the Team now right?" Wally retorted, taking an oversized bite out of his fruit. Ever since Robin came back from the circus mission, he became distant and quiet, but whenever he _did_ speak, his tone always held a barbed edge to it. Wally was more concerned about his behavior than he was annoyed, unlike the majority of the Team. Robin refused to tell anyone what happened between him and Deathstroke, and Wally knew that the mercenary had to be the cause of Robin's change in personality. But there wasn't a way for the speedster to help him if he refused to let him in...

 _"Superman is now handing out official League membership cards, starting with Doctor Fate,"_ Zatanna winced and turned away. Robin twitched as though he wanted to comfort her, but seemed to hold himself back from doing so. _"The Atom, Plastic Man, and Icon."_

Rocket put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "You know I was the one who convinced Icon to become a hero in the first place? _I_ should be outside celebrating with him, not hidden away back here."

"Welcome to our world," Kaldur told her softly.

"Well... I suppose there's an upside too," Rocket said with a small smirk, successfully averting Wally's attention from his best friend. Did she just...?

Huh. Go Kaldur.

The news reporter interrupted his thoughts. _"Finally, Green Arrow welcomes his former protege Speedy, now known as Red Arrow, to this roster of heroes."_

Wally felt a surge of excitement for his long term friend. "Way to go Roy!" He cheered, raising a fist in the air.

Kaldur smiled as well, sharing the sentiment. "At last, he has his wish."

"The first of us to make it." Wally beamed. "No one will call him a sidekick anymore."

"Wait." Rocket spun around to face the two of them, eyebrows raised in a mixture of confusion and irritation. "Since when is being a sidekick a bad thing? You sidekicks are my inspiration!"

Well, that was awkward. Wally never had to explain how insulting it was to be called a sidekick, not even to Robin and Superboy, who were both unfamiliar with the term at first. It was just a given that being a sidekick was a demeaning term. Maybe if he explained some things, she would understand. "Well, see, six months ago-" Robin's watch let out a warning tone before he could finish. And everyone watched as the Boy Wonder pulled up a small holo screen to see what the problem was.

"Looks like hacking the League's crime alerts worked..." The acrobat mumbled, and Wally caught a glimpse of Cheshire before he deactivated his glove. "We should regroup with the others and handle it."

Kaldur shook his head. "I must insist that you remain behind. Your injuries have not yet healed-"

"It doesn't matter. I'll live." Robin shrugged and moved towards the Zeta Tubes. Wally caught one more word before he disappeared in a beam of light, "...Unfortunately."

 **"Recognized: Robin, B02."** The Zeta Tube announced, enveloping the downcast boy in eerie light.

Batman's words from a few days ago rang in Wally's ears: _"Keep him away from sharp objects."_

Wally gave Rocket and Kaldur a sideways glance before shooting towards the exit after his friend, not wanting to take any risks. Whatever Deathstroke did to him, it must have seriously affected him mentally and emotionally, and Wally would be damned if he let Robin be consumed by darkness.

xXx

"Are you sure it's her?" Artemis asked, for what felt like the millionth time. Wally mentally groaned and turned his attention to the mountains that the bioship sped through, enjoying the scenery before it was butt-kicking time. "I mean, are you absolutely positive?"

"See for yourself," Robin said in an emotionless voice, pressing a button on his glove that expanded his holo screen and fitted it just in front of the main window. A video appeared on the screen; a woman with long black hair and a baseball cap was boarding a plane of some sorts. "Both recognition software and my own databases confirmed that's Jade Nguyen." He rested his cheek on his hand, sighing. "But what do I know? I'm just the computer guy. _You've_ seen her without her mask, you tell me." Robin's voice was devoid of any emotion, sounding as though he couldn't care less about Cheshire. That was odd... Dick always seemed to put the mission before anything else. For him to suddenly not care about their objective, that made Wally feel uneasy.

Deathstroke must have really done a number on him... And it looked like it was only a matter of time before Dick decided that the razors at home seemed friendly, if he didn't already do so. Wally would have to talk with him later, and see if he could get through his walls. They were best friends, right? Dick would talk to him.

"It's her," Artemis confirmed, gaze hardening as she studied the assassin's photo. "It's Jade- Cheshire."

"Agreed. But focus on what she carries." At Aqualad's command, Robin zoomed in on the image of the case she held in her hands. "Is that the case you saw in New Orleans? The one that got away?"

"...Yes," Artemis ground out, looking away from the screen with a slight blush of embarrassment. Wally mentally snorted at her. Yeah, she would definitely recognize the item that she failed to retrieve. Maybe they would have succeeded in their previous mission if she wasn't such a-

Rocket chimed in with, "Okay, I'm guessing from the mug shot that this Cheshire is the bad guy. But what's so important about that case?"

Robin let out an almost inaudible sigh, his face momentarily showing pure exhaustion before his emotionless facade was put up once again. "Remember the Injustice League?" He asked in a low voice, bringing up a picture of the villains to help her memory.

Rocket looked at the grinning face of the Joker, shivering slightly before nodding at the acrobat. "And their giant plants? Uh, _yeah_."

"The Team and the League put them in prison, but their allies still scheme," Aqualad explained. "Whatever is in that containment case seems to be important to their plans."

"We had a chance to grab it in New Orleans, but _someone_ screwed up." Wally glared at Artemis pointedly, and the blonde simply grit her teeth in response.

"Approaching Cheshire's jet," Miss Martian announced before the archer could retaliate. The aircraft came into view at her word, and Wally let out an involuntary gasp of surprise when he caught sight of it. Instead of a plane, they were approaching a crash sight of one. Wally grimaced and turned away; even a villain didn't deserve this fate. "Looks like there are no survivors..."

"We must investigate," Aqualad murmured, sounding mournful over the loss of human lives. "Perhaps we can still find information on the Injustice League inside the remains of the jet."

Minutes later, the Team found themselves carefully rummaging through the wreckage of the plane, but there were no clues to be seen. "How come Homeland Security and the NTSP aren't all over this?" Wally wondered out loud, putting his hands on his hips as he searched for any sign of useful information hidden in the crash sight. He had a bad feeling about this situation, for some reason.

"Cheshire's ID was a League alert," Robin explained tonelessly, studying what appeared to be a yellow box. "Authorities didn't pick it up and her jet didn't follow it's flight plan. But the Watchtower audited the jet and recorded the crash."

"Then why isn't the League here?" Rocket questioned, turning away from the broken wing she was inspecting before.

Zatanna smirked, and pointed a thumb at Robin. "Because our Boy Wonder has some mighty hacking skills and arranged to get the alert first."

Robin stopped, and carefully set his box down. "...Don't call me that," he muttered, before pulling out his holo glove. "But yeah, I figured that we all have some unfinished business with the criminal organization, so I made sure we would be notified first if any of our adversaries did anything noteworthy."

Deathstroke was probably included on that list, now that he made things personal for Robin. How he did that was still unknown, but it was painfully obvious that there was some sort of score to be settled between them.

"Wait..." Superboy racked his eyes over the whole of the wreckage, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Where's all of the bodies?"

"Here's one!" An all too familiar voice called out, and Wally whipped around to see the familiar outline of Cheshire's mask. The woman was standing on top of a rock wall above them, the case in her hands being held in a taunting fashion. "And it is _stunning_ ," she said in a purr.

Aqualad opened his mouth to shout a command, but his words were pushed out of the spotlight when another voice joined the party. This one was cocky, but totally unfamiliar to Wally's ears, and he has heard _plenty_ of cocky villains in his short lifetime. "I am floura, not fauna! I am foliage, not trees! What am I?" A man wearing a high collared green jacket smirked down at them from his position on a mountain top. Several men armed with spear like weapons surrounded him, and the familiar villain known as Mammoth stood nearby. The man in green snapped his fingers, and at that instant giant rods shot out of the ground and circled the teens, making a containment field to prevent their escape.

Well damn. That escalated quickly.

"Come on, you can get this," the man in green taunted, and Wally finally noticed the question mark printed on one of his shoulders. Right, there was a Gotham villain obsessed with puzzles. He was the Ridder, right? "I am shrubbery, not grass! I..." he looked at the gathered group expectantly, but Wally was lost to what he wanted them to say.

Behind him, Robin sighed. "Am-bush," he finished, and it suddenly clicked in Wally's head. _Oh_. That was actually a clever play on words...

Riddler clasped his hands together gleefully. "I was wondering when I was going to get my turn with the famous Boy Wonder." He grinned wickedly. "Renegade, was it?" Robin tensed, hands curling into fists by his sides while he grit his teeth. Riddler's smile only widened, and he turned his attention to the rest of the Team. "Did you really think that we wouldn't be tipped you were on Cheshire's tail? We're tired of your interference, kiddies! This is the endgame, ordered from above, and executed by their master strategist: _moi_."

 _"Miss Martian, is everyone linked?"_ Aqualad's voice suddenly said in his head.

 _"Yes,"_ M'gann confirmed.

 _"Go!"_ Aqualad shouted, and Kid Flash immediately reacted, sliding his goggles over his eyes before charging towards the nearest enemy at full speed. He almost smiled at the familiar free feeling running usually gave him, and for a second, he marveled over how time seemed to slow down while he breezed through the snow. It used to baffle him when he was younger, and he once spent hours running around just to watch the passage of time slow down for him. Well, now he knew that he just moved fast enough to make everything else _seem_ slower, so he had stopped caring about it a long time ago. Man, he missed the days when everything seemed so carefree.

But now that he thought about it... His teenage years were supposed to be full of carefree adventures. A frown developed on his face, and he did a fast sweep over his teammate's features with his eyes. They were _all_ so young, and already put so much time out of their lives for fighting evil. They didn't have _time_ for a childhood, and that made him feel kind of sad.

Being a hero put more weight on his shoulders than he realized.

His downwards slope of thoughts came to a sudden stop when he noticed that he was closer to one of the nameless men, and let out another burst of speed so that when his foot collided with the man's chest, it sent him flying. Kid also noticed that the dome they were in was filled with a heavy blizzard, one that did not seem to effect Kid's vision in the slightest, but he could see Riddler squinting through it. Huh, that must have been Zatanna's work. Nice!

 _"Go, Superboy. The pylons!"_ Aqualad mentally shouted, receiving a grunt in return.

 _"Working on it."_ There was a moment's pause, and then layers of rage enveloped Connor's part of the link. Wally was curious to what pissed him off, but found that he had no time to check. The guys with the pointy spears meant business.

Rocket suddenly let out a cry of pain.

Wally whipped around to face her, and to his absolute surprise, a strange otherworldly orb of sparking electricity was the cause of her anguish. The speedster was just about to run to her aid when Aqualad came to the rescue, grabbing the sphere in both hands and yanking it away from her. Well, since he had that one covered...

Kid Flash moved on to his next target, taking him out in a similar fashion he did with the others. This time, after the man had fallen, Wally caught a glimpse of the gun-like weapon he carried. That must have been the thing that shot out whatever it was that hurt Rocket. Huh. That kind of reminded him of the guns that Robin took out in Qurac.

Speaking of Robin. _"SB, you're flying!"_ The acrobat mentally exclaimed, and Wally tilted his head up to see what he was talking about. Above them, Superboy was shooting towards the top of the dome with Mammoth in a death grip. Wally's eyes widened in awe and excitement. Connor finally learned how to fly!

It was hard to see what was going on with their distance, but Wally was aware that Mammoth was in the sky, and then he suddenly wasn't, and was a heap on the icy ground. Superboy didn't let up on his attack though, and roughly grabbed the giant man to shove him against the nearest cliff. More anger radiated from Superboy's side of the mental link, and Wally stopped in his tracks. For a second, when he heard Robin's voice, it felt like Connor's anger spiked. That was... weird.

Kid once again forced himself out of his puzzlement, noticing that the only criminals left were Riddler and Shimmer, but it looked like Robin had them covered. A giant smoke cloud surrounded the two villains, and when it cleared, Shimmer was on the ground, completely immobile due to the bolas wrapped around her limbs. Robin moved towards Riddler to give him the same treatment, but was beaten by Zatanna, who chanted, "Tekcajtiarts!"

Riddler shrieked as a straitjacket appeared around his torso. "No, no! I am not the straitjacket type! I am strictly Belle Reve, not Arkham!" He shouted, but the crazed look in his eyes said otherwise.

Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Gag mih," she said, and the Riddler was instantly silenced by a gag. Wally grinned and zoomed over to where they stood, the remaining Teammates following suit.

Rocket was the next to land besides them. "Is it always like this?" She asked, sounding impressed.

"Yeah, pretty much." Zatanna shared a smile with her before raising her arms to chant, "Hguone htiw eht ebolgwons!"

"A girl could get used to this," Rocket said gleefully, beaming at the gathered teens.

"You think that now..." Robin mumbled, eyeing Riddler warily. "Just wait until you experience the wrath of Batman for the first time."

Wally felt all of the warmth drain from his face as he paled. The Team broke several rules today- hacking into League files, leaving the Mountain without an official mission, conveniently forgetting their comms back at the Cave...

Oh, and Batman specifically told everyone to not let Robin out on the field until his injuries were fully healed. An overprotective Batman was not something to take lightly.

They were so screwed.

xXx

Or not, Wally decided as Batman gave the teens a small smile. A _smile_. From _Batman_. "Well done," he told them, and the Team shared startled looks. It wasn't everyday that the famously emotionless Dark Knight gave out compliments. It was an even rarer occurrence when the man smiled while in costume.

Everything was so weird today.

"And then there's this," Batman continued, turning his attention to the case they managed to snag. Inside of the container was tiny star-shaped objects. Robin's eyes had been glued to them ever since they opened the case, and a look of unease seemed to be permanently etched onto his face. "Bio-technology integrated with some form of nano-circuitry." He looked at his protege. "Do you sense anything important?"

"It's definitely not from Earth," Robin murmured, tearing his eyes away from the tech. He looked around the room, avoiding Batman's gaze. "It doesn't feel safe. Be careful with it," this was said in a much softer tone, and Batman nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm studying it at the Watchtower." He closed the case and grabbed the handle, giving Robin one last look before heading towards the Zeta Tubes. The Cave's systems announced his departure, and as soon as he was gone, Robin turned to Kaldur.

"You realize we were set up, right?"

Kaldur nodded grimly. "Yes, Cheshire and Riddler were tipped and ready for us." Oh boy, not this drama again.

"Not the mole thing again!" Artemis groaned, voicing Wally's thoughts.

"Mole thing?" Rocket echoed, voice laced with obvious confusion. "Again?"

Robin sighed. "We were informed that there was a traitor on the Team," he began to explain, but was interrupted when Superboy angrily shoved his way closer to the acrobat.

"Either Artemis, M'gann, or me," the clone snarled, glaring daggers at the now silent Boy Wonder. "Yet Robin here has been working for Deathstroke for years and no one once questioned it!"

Aqualad tried to put a hand on his shoulder. "It is more complicated-"

"What?!" Robin stood straighter, returning Superboy's look with a full on bat-glare. "You call being forced to do whatever he wanted 'working?!'" He snapped, and Kid Flash tensed. Oh boy, this was not going to end well, was it?

"You still slip up and call him 'Master' when you talk about him!" Superboy hollered, shaking fists clenched at his sides. Wally's eyes widened fractionally; was he going to _hit_ Robin? "If you aren't loyal to him still, then explain that!"

"Enough!" Aqualad shouted, forcing himself between the two. "Superboy, I understand your frustration, but your behavior has been most concerning lately." The clone growled and backed away, stalking towards the nearest exit. "Connor, did you not agree that we were like siblings?" Kaldur called after him, voice soft. That certainly made Superboy stop. "You have acted against Robin in more ways than one, you nearly killed Artemis when you caused that avalanche..."

Connor groaned and suddenly grabbed his head. Wally inched his way to Robin's side, wondering if the clone would lash out again. But, as luck had it, Connor seemed to finally calm down, and turned to face his teammates again. "I have something to do... something to tell you." His gaze fell on Robin again, but this time his expression was apologetic, and... worried?

The clone took in a deep breath. "Last month on Thanksgiving, I went back to Cadmus. Found a few things out- when I was cloned, only half the DNA was Superman's. The other half was human."

Wally hummed in understanding. It made sense when he thought about it, Kryptonian DNA was probably difficult to work with, and it didn't come to much of a surprise that Cadmus elected to work with something they were more familiar with. But what was so important about that?

"That's why I don't have, have _never_ had full Kryptonian powers," Connor finished.

Robin frowned. "Are you sure? You seemed to have them earlier today."

Superboy averted his eyes, and pulled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a black patch stuck to his skin. "I've been using these- Shields. They suppress my human DNA. I get the flight and the heat vision, but I think I also get angry. Well... angri _er._ Especially with you." His gaze fell on Robin again, who seemed taken aback by the new information. "I'm sorry," the clone said softly, lowering his head. "For everything."

"...Where did you get those?" It was Aqualad that asked the question lingering on everyone's minds.

Connor studied the ground for a minute longer, seeming to hesitate before sharing anything. "From my human father, Lex Luthor," he revealed, and the air immediately tensed at the name. But Superboy wasn't done yet. "And... Deathstroke." There was a sharp intake of breath from everyone present. "They want me at Santa Prisca."

"..." Robin was shocked into silence, staring at the clone like he had grown a second head. "You... I..." he shook his head, looking dazed. "...I don't understand..." his voice sounded like it belonged to someone much younger, like a child who just discovered that Santa Claus wasn't real. The sound of his voice made Wally want to hit something. That must have been a low blow to the acrobat, for one of his closest friends to reveal that he had been a total douche because of something _Deathstroke_ gave him. While Superboy probably didn't mean any harm by it at first, this was still an act of betrayal that stung in more ways than one.

"...He isn't the only one with bad blood," Artemis suddenly said, walking towards the holo computer. Her hands shook as she typed in the command to bring up pictures of Sportsmaster, Cheshire, and a woman that Wally didn't recognize. "My mother is Huntress, an ex-con. Rest of my family aren't even "ex-". My Dad's Sportsmaster, and he's sending my _sister_ , Cheshire, to fly me to Santa Prisca, too." Wally suddenly realized why she acted how she did when the Team last faced Sportsmaster and Cheshire, but Artemis continued speaking before he could voice his thoughts. "...Deathstroke came to me as well." Her eyes fell onto Robin, looking at him almost fearfully. "He told me that if I didn't help him isolate you from the Team, then he would use the electrical shock feature in your computer chip to kill you."

Robin had paled considerably in the amount of time that passed since she spoke, and Wally half feared that he was going to have a panic attack. God, this was so not good. Dick was already under plenty of stress, and now with the two Team members revealing that they were in cahoots with Deathstroke...

Miss Martian just _had_ to make that number three. "I-I wasn't entirely loyal to this Team either. Queen Bee and D-Deathstroke were both black mailing me as well..." She wrapped her arms around herself. "They said they would reveal my true Martian form if I didn't do what they said, and part of that deal was that I was mean to Robin." She sniffed. "I-I wanted to back out, but I didn't want you to s-see what I looked like..."

"But we've already seen your true Martian form," Wally mumbled, trying to wrap his head around everything. Robin was still silent, just staring at the space in front of him.

"No, you haven't." She squeezed her eyes shut and began to transform. Wally let out a surprised gasp when instead of going bald, she became a _white_ Martian. _"I didn't want you to reject me like I was during my time in Mars... I couldn't stand the thought of losing you all because of how I look,"_ she mentally told them, voice sad. She then slowly reversed the transformation, turning back into the M'gann they were more familiar with. "I didn't want to hurt Robin either, though. I-I thought that if I just _ignored_ him, then I could be happy, and he wouldn't notice a thing. B-But it didn't work out like that." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I caused him more pain than I thought possible, and instead of backing out of the deal I made, I continued to bring him more pain..." The tears finally fell down her face, and she buried her head into her hands with a gasping sob. "Robin, I'm so, _so_ sorry."

Everyone was silent again, all turning to the lost face of the youngest. Robin had his head tilted to the ground, his mouth set in a grim, straight line. Wally reached out to snap him out of his trance, give him comfort, _something_ other than just standing there. Dick didn't acknowledge him, just stared out into space with the most lost expression anyone ever saw.

And then, Robin let out a sharp exhale. "...Huh. I can never get away from him, can I?" He murmured, digging his nails into his arms as he hugged himself. "Even my friends, the people I've sacrificed so much to protect... You betrayed me," he sighed dully. "Should have known."

Wally was more than a little wary of how Dick was acting. He seemed far too calm about finding out that three of his teammates were working with Deathstroke. "Dude, are you okay?" He asked quietly.

Robin put up the weakest smile the world has ever seen. "Of course I am. When am I not?" This was said with a broken chuckle, and Wally felt his hair stand on end. Why did it sound like Dick just hit his breaking point?

"Robin, we are so sorry about what we did," M'gann whispered, floating over to the short boy. She threw her arms around his shoulders desperately, but the hug was not reciprocated. "Please understand..."

Slowly, Robin lifted his arms to return the hug. "...I forgive you," Dick finally mumbled, to the Team's surprise.

"Y-You do?" Artemis asked in confusion. Wally joined her in the puzzlement. "But Robin, we betrayed you to your worst enemy. You're not mad, not at all?" Now that Wally really looked at her, he noticed the fresh tears swimming in her eyes as well. Next was Connor, whose wrinkled eyebrows and downturn of his mouth were the only indications that he was upset as well.

But the one who _should_ have been upset seemed completely unaffected. "Mm." Robin looked at Kaldur. "We can talk about it later. Right now, I'm more interested in the group of villains that have all gathered in the same area, all unprepared for an attack. I say we take advantage of this situation and strike."

There was a brief moment of shocked silence before any response was made. "That does seem to be the next best coarse of action," Aqualad murmured in agreement, but even he was baffled by the bird's lack of response. "But is it wise to leave so soon after such a reveal?"

"They told us what was going on before any harm could be done," Robin said immediately, eyes narrowing. "But if you would rather sit here and discuss our feelings, then be my guest. I for one am dying to end this fight once and for all."

The Team could only share a confused look as Robin exited the room, no apparent change in mood. Aqualad eventually met everyone else's gazes before nodding in consent with Dick's plan. Wally immediately zipped over to his friend's side, matching his stride as he studied his expression. "Uh, so you just kinda ignored the biggest plot twist in history," he said as nonchalantly as possible.

"I said we can talk about it later," Dick said with an irritated sigh. And that's when Wally saw it, he saw the emotionless mask crumble like dried out clay. For a split second, he saw a mixture of pain, sadness, regret, anger, and... guilt?

That last one made him all the more uneasy. "Why do I have a feeling there won't be a later?" He breathed, but he was promptly ignored.

That bad feeling that Wally had earlier? It was back, and stronger than ever before.

xXx **(GUYS I'M SORRY)** xXx

Kid Flash could be described in a numerous amount of ways, and being impatient was definitely one of his more known adjectives. He was practically vibrating with anxiety as he and everyone who _didn't_ make some sort of deal with a villain waited for those who did. Every single cell in his body buzzed with pent up nervousness; everything about this mission was setting off alarm bells in his head. Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy were all way too close to dangerous villains for comfort, and if they didn't pull off their act then this mission could end terribly.

 _"...Deathstroke is here."_ Miss Martian mentally informed them after she joined Superboy and Artemis at the meeting point. Her thoughts were spiked with hatred, something that Wally thought she was incapable of feeling. Deathstroke was a sore topic for _all_ of them now.

 _"Then it would be best if Robin were to stay hidden while the rest of us deal with our enemies,"_ Aqualad said, looking down at the acrobat kneeling down besides him. _"We cannot risk your safety. Not after what he did to you at the circus."_ There was a bitter tone to his voice as well, and it was obvious he had taken Deathstroke's attack personally as well. That wasn't too surprising- didn't Kaldur once make a comment about being more protective over Robin than anyone else?

Robin frowned, and then to Wally's confusion, he looked up at the sky and studied it for a moment. Then, he shook his head. _"I have to face him again."_ He lowered his head, face filled with regre _t. "Look guys, I decided that I'm leaving the Team after this mission."_

 _"What?!"_ This was Zatanna, who was stationed at another spot to keep watch on their teammates _. "What do you mean you're leaving?! Is this about them working with Deathstroke?"_

 _"... No. It's not. Like I said before, I forgive them. I would do the same thing they did if I were in their position at the time. Deathstroke has a way of making people do things they don't want to."_ He sounded distant, but shook his head to clear it _. "I'll explain my reasons later. But for now, let me fight with you guys once last time. Please."_

 _"Robin, I must insist-"_

He was interrupted by another voice in their heads. _"Queen Bee is down!"_ M'gann suddenly declared. "Superboy, you're safe from her control." Wally was startled to find that he was so distracted that he didn't even notice that the battle already begun. And since there were so many troublesome villains in one area, it was a given that the rest of the Team would soon be called upon.

 _"Guys... Reinforcement time!"_

Aqualad gave Robin another look over, grimacing at his hopeful expression. _"...Fine. You may fight alongside us. Just be careful."_

Robin smiled sadly. _"Always am."_

 _"Then let's go."_

It was time. Wally gave Robin a weak smile before darting towards the battle field. He immediately had to twist out of the way of a flying dagger, courtesy of Deathstroke of course. "It's time to go!" Luthor shouted at the stoic mercenary, scooping up Queen Bee as he retreated to the stationed helicopter.

"Completely unnecessary," Deathstroke said calmly, and Wally grit his teeth at the sound of his voice. This man was going to face the wrath of everyone in the Team _and_ the Justice League for all of the pain he caused them. He could expect double from Kid Flash, who has been dying to kick him where the sun didn't shine ever since the message he gave to Robin in Bialya.

Aqualad quickly darted in front of Luthor, teeth bared and katanas held out in warning. "Neither you or Queen Bee are going anywhere!" He shouted, but Luthor looked unconcerned.

"Young man, if you wish to detain me, contact my lawyer." He said smoothly, and his robotic assistant sprang forward to assist him.

Only to suddenly power down as Robin somersaulted in between her and Aqualad.

The acrobat made eye contact with her, and his face twitched before Mercy sparked and fell to the side, completely out of commission for the rest of the battle. Kid felt a flash of anger from Robin's side of the link as he turned around to glare at Luthor. "I'll do more than throw you in jail, Lex," he spat, and Wally was so surprised by his change in personality that he was left completely open to an attack from Bane. Shoot, he forgot about the rest of them. He looked over to where Artemis was fighting both her sister and her father, and grimaced. She was at a disadvantage, but then again, he couldn't let Bane run wild. Bane first, then-

"Will you actually do as you threaten, Renegade?" Wally ducked to avoid being punched again, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Deathstroke come closer to Robin and Aqualad.

"Stay back!" Kaldur shouted and lunged at him, but Wally forced himself to look away as Bane caught the side of his face with his fist. Okay, this was getting problematic. Time to say hasta la vista to this foe.

Wally jumped to the side to avoid another swing, and then skidded backwards when Bane tried to catch him by surprise with a kick aimed at his stomach. Kid Flash then ran straight towards him, falling onto his back to slide under him baseball game style. Before Bane could register what was happening, Wally spun himself around and jumped up to grab the glowing green cords that supplied Bane with Venom, and pulled them away with all of his might. Once his super strength was disabled, Bane easily crumpled when Kid dropped to the ground again to kick his feet from under him.

 ** _"No... Kaldur!"_** Wally's eyes widened at Miss Martian's exclamation, and he quickly picked himself off of the ground, praying to whatever deity was up there that his friend wasn't dead. But when he saw who was standing over his teammate's unconscious body, his entire world froze.

"Nicely done, Renegade." Deathstroke was at Robin's side, a hand resting on his shoulder. The acrobat was trembling, the escrima sticks in his hands nearly falling out of his grasp. No. _Nonono_. "I knew you would come to the right side eventually." The smirk the mercenary probably wore could be heard as he squeezed Robin's shoulder.

Instead of flinching away from Deathstroke's touch like Wally expected him to, Robin's shoulders slumped in defeat. His head bowed, a dark shadow crossing over the top half of his face as he continued to shake, obviously not wanting to be next to the assassin, but forcing himself to anyways _. "Rob..."_ He suddenly remembered what he had said before about quitting the Team, and now understood the hidden meaning. Dick _planned_ on joining Deathstroke. _"Robin, how could you?!"_

All of the other battles came to a halt, the villains realizing that they had the upper hand, and the heroes horrified by the sudden turn of tables. _"This isn't like you, Robin. You're still completely terrified of him. I can feel it."_ M'gann floated closer to him. _"He has something on you too, doesn't he?"_

"...I belong to Deathstroke," Robin said softly, ignoring the mental link. "I accepted it, and so should you."

"Fuck that!" Wally shouted, waving his arms. "You belong to no one! You're your own person, you have your own life! Whatever he has on you, it's not worth all of this!" He never felt so desperate, seeing his best friend next to that monster and prepared to sell his soul to him for no apparent reason. It made his insides turn icy. "Rob... We can help you. Like we did with Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy. You don't have to do this."

"Touching." Deathstroke sounded amused. "But we don't have time for this. Renegade, help us round up these little heroes..." Robin flinched but obeyed, pulling out two birdarangs from his utility belt.

 _"Dude... Please, don't make us fight you."_

 _"You don't understand,"_ Dick finally responded mentally _. "He knows who you are. He knows the identities of the entire League. If I don't do what he says, every criminal we've ever faced will know your names, where you live, your weaknesses..."_

 _"It doesn't matter!" I_ t was Connor who shouted this time _. "If it comes between our identities and your safety, we'll of course choose you!"_ He sent a glare towards Deathstroke. _"If you go with him, he'll hurt you. He'll hurt you like he did while you were in Cadmus."_

 _"..."_

 _"Robin... Even if our civilian selves are hunted down, at least we'll all still have each other,"_ M'gann said in a grief ridden voice.

Artemis nodded. _"We're a family, remember? You forgave us, and now we save you. We have to stick together."_

 _"...!"_

"Renegade, now!" Deathstroke barked out, irritated, and Robin flinched before taking a step forward. Wally tensed in preparation, feeling nauseous at the thought of fighting his best friend. Robin shakily took another step forward, but then his expression flickered, and Wally finally saw an emotion that he was more familiar with:

Determination.

Robin suddenly dropped to the ground and swept Deathstroke's feet out from under him. The move was so unexpected that the mercenary fell to the ground, and Robin lunged at him to aim a birdarang at his throat. "Sorry, _Master_ ," he spat, and Deathstroke narrowed his eye as he stared up at him. "This bird doesn't like being caged."

Wally felt a brilliant grin form on his face, which only widened as Kaldur stirred and slowly regained consciousness. They did it, didn't they? The villains capable of dealing out damage were now outnumbered with no more tricks up their sleeves, Robin managed to defeat _Deathstroke_ of all people, and it would only be a matter of time before the Team officially claimed their victory.

If only it was that easy.

"I didn't want to do this," Deathstroke suddenly said, and the hairs on the back of Wally's neck stood on end at the sound of his dark tone. "But you've given me no choice. Falling Grayson."

Dick's entire body went absolutely rigid, and the birdarangs he held in hands fell out of his suddenly loose grasp. Almost mechanically, Robin backed away from Deathstroke, his face completely blank as he stood at attention. Shivers ran down Wally's spine; what the hell just happened?

 _"Guys... that sounded kind of like the code that Luthor used on me to knock me out,"_ Superboy sounded distant, and fearful anticipation crept into the link. _"I think he might be under Deathstroke's control."_

"No..." Wally breathed as Deathstroke climbed back up to his feet. The mercenary was unconcerned by the heroes's horrified expressions as he turned to face Luthor.

"Take Queen Bee and the others out of here. Renegade and I will follow through other means." He said calmly, grabbing Robin by his forearm. "Have someone prepare for an extra person. I have an apprentice to punish when we return." His grip on his captive had to feel like absolute hell, but Robin didn't even twitch in response.

"Of course..." Luthor only sounded amused by Deathstroke's plans to probably torture a thirteen year old boy, and that made Wally grind his teeth together. Lex nodded to his associates and they all began to make their escape. A part of Wally knew that he should stop them from fleeing, but he was too focused on the empty shell of his best friend. Was he still in there, somewhere...?

 _"What do we do?"_ Artemis sounded distraught. _"We can't attack Robin!"_

 _"I..."_ Like everyone else, Kaldur's eyes were glued to Robin's still form _. "I am not sure..."_

 _"Miss Martian, can you contact him mentally?!"_ Wally asked, desperate for a solution. Because if there wasn't one, that meant Dick was stuck in that mindless state for the rest of his life, and a world without Richard Grayson was not a world Wally wanted to live in.

 _"I-I think he's there, kind of. I can faintly feel_ _ **something**_ _in his head."_

 _"Good enough for me."_ Without a second thought, Wally dashed over to where Robin stood and pulled him out of Deathstroke's grasp, bringing him to a much safer area. "Dick, I need you to snap out of it!" He said loudly, but nothing changed in that blank face. _"Miss Martian, can't you do what you did with Superboy?!"_

 _"I can't sense any kind of programming inside of him!"_ She shouted back, sounding just as frantic. _"H-His programming must be coming from the computer chip and not his brain like Superboy's was."_

It suddenly made sense. That's why Manhunter was never able to sense anything. How could they all be so stupid to overlook such a simple fact? "...Dude, if you're in there, I need you to fight this." Kid put both of his hands on his shoulders, wanting nothing more than to tear his mask away so that they could make eye contact. "Robin, don't let Deathstroke turn you into his mindless puppet."

Deathstroke sighed, annoyed with the theatrics. "Renegade, kill him."

Wally turned his head to look at him on instinct, and he instantly swerved back around once he realized his mistake. But for once, he was too _slow._

 _"WALLY!"_

 _"Kid Flash, no!"_

Wally blinked rapidly as the very _sharp_ birdarang was pulled out of his side forcefully. Huh. He had no idea how lethal those things... could be...

He crumpled to the ground at his best friend's feet, blood pouring out of his deep wound. He could taste the same red liquid seep through his mouth, and his pulse quickened as he realized that Robin must have punctured something. _No_. That was definitely not good. Even with his quick healing, there was no way that he would be able to survive-

That's when it hit him- he was dying.

"Apprentice, come. I've made my point..." Wally weakly protested as he watched his friend's feet retreat to his forced Master's side.

 _"He's taking Robin away!"_ Connor mentally shouted, and there was some scuffling before another grunt of pain.

 _"Connor!"_

Wally's vision became hazy, but he saw Artemis appear by his side. "Hang in there Baywatch, or I swear..." her voice was choked.

He really _was_ dying then, if Arty was crying about it. His heart pounded in his chest; he wasn't ready to die. He was barely sixteen for crying out loud! Not even out of high school! And all of this because his best friend was brainwashed to-

Wait... _Dick_. "You have to...save him..." he panted, screwing his eyes shut.

"Deathstroke already got away. Robin's gone," Artemis said regretfully, taking his hand. "But we'll get him back, _all_ of us."

No, everyone except him. "When you get him... Tell him..."

Droplets of water fell onto his face from where Artemis had her head bowed over him. "T-Tell him what?"

"...It wasn't his fault..." he whispered, before letting his body fall limp.

"No! Wally, you have to stay with me! Wally!"

He felt a pair of lips brush against his own, and then nothing.

xXx

 **AN: ...**

 **See you next chapter. ;-;**


	25. Breaking Barriers

**AN: Thank you for your** ** _lovely_** **comments from last chapter. Judging by the amount of screamed reviews I received, I take it that you all need a little more angst? Well, your wish is my command...**

 **Enjoy~**

xXx (Unknown Location) xXx

The first thing Dick was aware of was the pounding headache that shook his skull. He imagined this was what being hung over after a night of drinking felt like; his eyelids were too heavy to open, his limbs felt like lead, and his stomach threatened to bring up his last meal. Well, he could've just been sick for all he knew. He would have to ask Alfred to take his temperature for him to know for sure. But that also meant telling Bruce, who was an absolute nightmare whenever he was-

"I see you finally decided to reunite with the rest of the living," someone commented dryly from not too far away from where he laid, and the hair on the back of his neck immediately stuck up when he recognized the voice. _Deathstroke_.

Cold panic gripped Dick's insides as he shot up into a sitting position. Well, that's what he would have done if it weren't for the metal cuffs holding his wrists and ankles down onto his makeshift bed. Terrified blue eyes swept the area, landing on the familiar orange and black mask he had always associated with danger.

Deathstroke kidnapped him, and now he was completely in his mercy again. Shit.

"What's the matter?" While Dick couldn't see under his mask, he was sure Deathstroke was smirking. "Does the little bird not like being caged?"

...Being caged? Dick was suddenly struck by a bad case of deja-vu. _He_ had said that before, didn't he?

 _"Sorry,_ _ **Master**_ _. This bird doesn't like being caged."_

Dick hissed in pain as his headache intensified, and screwed his eyes shut, the memory rattling his head. He could see the faint images of himself and his friends, along with a few of their most persistent villains. His stomach lurched when he saw himself turn on Aqualad; the Atlantian wasn't expecting an attack from a fellow teammate, and so it was embarrassingly easy for Robin to knock him out with his escrima sticks. But after that... His teammates talked him out of it, didn't they? But if that was the case then how did he end up back with Deathstroke?

And why was everything after that memory a total blank?

"Poor Robin, all alone with no where to go now that you've betrayed your friends." Deathstroke came closer to the held down acrobat, and Dick shrank back as best as he could. But the metal cuffs that kept him from fleeing also prevented him from putting space in between him and Deathstroke. The mercenary watched the fear flicker across his face, and that seemed to amuse him more than anything. "Now, I believe I still owe you a punishment, don't I?" He circled around the medical table and stopped where he could tower over the wide eyed boy. "What shall it be this time?"

Dick desperately tried to pull his wrists free from their restraints as his captor casually spoke of punishments, but stopped dead in his tracks when Deathstroke put a calming hand on his arm. "Now, don't get riled up just yet. I think we can work something out so that you don't get hurt." His voice was kinder, and for some reason that scared Dick even more. "I was disappointed in you when you chose to betray me, Renegade, but then I realized... You don't know any better, do you? Your programming makes you focus on the role of the hero, so that you can complete your mission. It clouds your judgement." He took a step back and produced a familiar remote, and Dick warily looked at the red button that controlled the shock feature in his chip. But surprisingly, Deathstroke didn't press it. Instead, he started fiddling with a few other colorful buttons. "Well, your mission is over."

One final button was pressed, and Dick felt _something_ change inside of him. The thoughts in the back of his head that were always centered around the League disappeared all at once, thoughts that he wasn't even aware that he had. He immediately felt lost, eyebrows scrunched up in confusion when his pre-programmed sense of purpose was suddenly taken away from him.

And then he _remembered_.

The missing puzzle pieces fell into place, his memories no longer being altered by his programming. Everything came back all at once, and the intensity of it felt like a jackhammer to the stomach. But that feeling was _nothing_ compared to what he felt when he suddenly knew what his mission had been. "No..." He whispered, his insides going cold as he was struck by realization. "Project R wasn't meant to _destroy_ the Justice League, it was meant to _cripple_ them. The main goal was to target their most resourceful member, and annihilate them so that the Light could easily finish off the rest of the League."

"Correct," Deathstroke eyed him, sounding pleased. "And you would have succeeded if I didn't pull you out."

"...I nearly killed him." Dick closed his eyes, his throat tight with anguish. "I nearly _murdered_ the man who took me in."

There was a quiet chuckle. "Ironic, isn't it? You were so willing to do anything to protect the Justice League and their little sidekicks, yet you were the biggest threat to their safety. It's even more ironic how guilty your little friends felt when they betrayed you, not knowing that you've done something much worse in return."

Dick was at a loss for words. He remembered feeling sudden bursts of anger towards Bruce, but never did he think that they were strong enough to make him kill him. But then again... everything else made perfect sense. His obsession with Batman when he first joined the Team, his jealously whenever Bruce gave anyone else the slightest bit of attention, and his refusal to do anything besides be the Boy Wonder, none of those feelings originated from his own mind Every single decision he made, it was because of the programming he harbored, nothing more.

Without his mission, he was a blank slate.

"My memories..." he choked out, desperate for answers. "Why don't my memories make sense? I-I remember everything, but I have two different timelines of memories from my time in Cadmus, and everything before that is still blurry."

"You are remembering your real memories, along with fake memories that Cadmus gave you to make the League more trusting," Deathstroke explained patiently. "We knew that they would sympathize with a child who was used for drugs his entire life more than they would if they knew you were trained as an assassin your entire life." He paused, and Dick could picture the smirk he wore. "As for your memories before Cadmus... You don't have any. Nothing _real_ , anyway. Just some fake memories to keep the League off of your back."

Dick was taken aback by the second explanation. "That's impossible, I have to have memories of my life before you kidnapped me."

Another laugh. "You would be right, if we _did_ kidnap you. See, you've been inside Cadmus since the day of your birth." At Dick's confusion, Deathstroke continued in a condescending tone, "Now, come on... What do all human Cadmus experiments have in common?"

Dick wracked his new memories fruitlessly, not understanding what he was implying. "I don't know. I don't _remember_."

"A more accurate statement is that you don't _want_ to remember," the villain corrected him. "All of your memories have returned to you, yet this bit hasn't? How convenient for you." There was a meaningful pause before he spoke again, "I wonder if the original was as ignorant as you."

"Original...?" The word was finally processed by his struggling brain, and when it did, his entire world turned on its side. He couldn't mean- No. That was impossible... wasn't it? "I'm not a clone," he said forcefully, glaring at the smug figure above him. "I remember being kidnapped at the Detention Center. I remember my parents, and the circus."

"Which are all fake memories the Light gave you to ensure that the League would trust you," Deathstroke repeated, sighing. "We _would_ have given you the original's memories to make you seem more realistic, but that required magic. By the time we were able to persuade Klarion and Wotan to join our cause, Project R was already fully developed. We had to make due with what we had, which was a blank slate. And having 'amnesia' certainly gave you more sympathy from your target, so who am I to complain?"

"..." To say Dick was shocked would be the biggest understatement of a lifetime. This... This was too much for him. Not only did he learn that he was programmed to kill the man who treated him like a sun, but now he was being told that he was a _clone_?

His heart clenched painfully, and he felt a burning sensation in the back of his eyes. He had absolutely nothing to his name- he didn't even _have_ a name, not one that was solely his. His entire life, everything he knew, all of experiences, it was all one big lie. The only reason he was alive and breathing was because of the scientists he despised. But what did that mean for him now? His sole purpose was to do what the Light wanted, and now that his mission was over, he had nothing. No family, no friends, not even a back story.

The cuffs on his wrists and ankles suddenly opened, and Deathstroke circled around the table once again, staring at him all the while. "Now that you understand how idiotic you were being when you defied me, I am willing to give you another chance. See, the only reason why you exist is because I chose to create you. If you think about it, I'm almost like your father." He stopped in front of him, and Dick hesitantly looked up to meet his gaze. "And as your creator, I expect absolute obedience from you from this point on. In return, I'll finish teaching you everything I know, and I'll give you more power than you could imagine. Will you cooperate?" He offered him a hand, and waited for his answer patiently.

Dick stared at the outstretched hand, his insides going completely numb. Deathstroke was right, as his creator, it only made sense for him to follow in his footsteps. That was what he was made for, and it would be illogical for him to do anything else. In every sense, Deathstroke basically _owned_ him, so what was the point in rebelling? What was the point of going against someone who, like Deathstroke said, was basically his father.

But even still...

He was alive, his heart was beating, and blood coursed through his veins. Even if he was a knock off version of Richard Grayson, he was still _alive_. He had a life of his own, and even though he spent most of his existence with puppet strings guiding his every move, that didn't mean he had to continue following the path that was forced upon him. While he was outside of Cadmus walls, he was a spy and a traitor. But even then, he still forged a bond with everyone he met. He may have betrayed his best friends and his mentor, but that didn't mean he couldn't fix it. Now that he knew everything, he could make things right.

Determined, Dick rejected the offered hand. "Programming or not... Once a hero, always a hero." The eye of the assassin narrowed, but Dick refused to back down. "And now that I know everything, I'm going to help the League take you down. You shouldn't have given me all of my memories back, _Slade_." The usage of his first name only made Deathstroke angrier, but Dick was on a roll. "And I'm done being your puppet. Just because you created me doesn't make you my father, that title belongs to someone else." He raised his chin defiantly, all traces of his skittishness now completely gone. He was _done_ being pushed around, of being constantly under someone else's control. He was overdue for a bit of his own freedom.

But maybe he shouldn't have blatantly disobeyed Deathstroke until _after_ he found an escape route.

The hand that was stretched out between them was suddenly thrusted forward, and Dick yelped as he was suddenly picked up and thrown across the room. Stars erupted in front of his eyes as his head smacked the wall, and he could only weakly put his hands out to cushion his fall back to the ground. Deathstroke gave him no time to recover, for the mercenary was inches away from him within seconds. "You'll regret saying that, _Robin_." The way his hero name was spat out made it sound like a curse word, especially with the amount of malice in it. "You think the Justice League will be able to take you back when they're all under the Light's control? Do you think they would _want_ to after what you did?"

Dick cried out when the side of a boot connected with his cheekbone, and the force of impact was strong enough to send him back to the floor in a heap. "I... don't... understand..." he gasped, curling into a ball to protect his stomach from the next blow.

"Of course you don't, you lack the brain cells necessary for thinking for more than a few seconds!" Deathstroke knelt down and grabbed a fistful of Dick' hair, pulling his head up so that their masked eyes met. "Think back to before you came here with me. Remember the technology you just so _happened_ to confiscate from the Light? Didn't it occur to you that it had been far too easy to obtain it?" He released his hair, allowing Dick's head to fall back to the floor. "Your pathetic team was meant to get that technology, and bring it to the League's headquarters so that Red Arrow would be able to infect every single one of them with it. And he succeeded. Everyone, even Batman, has been infected. The tech gives us complete and utter control over them, and soon the sidekicks will join them." He breathed out a quiet chuckle. "But even if they somehow manage to free themselves from our control, no one would ever accept you after you killed Kid Flash."

Dick pushed himself up with shaky arms, his breathing coming in short and irregular gasps. "I would never hurt KF," he growled out, only to cry out when he was picked up by the back of his uniform. The fabric tightened around his neck, and he clawed at it instinctively, trying to get rid of the thing blocking his airway.

"Is that so?" Deathstroke said tauntingly, unaffected by the boy's thrashing. "I must have been imagining it when you stabbed him with a birdarang." He tossed him back onto the medical table, and Dick's back skidded across the surface before he fell over from the other side. "All it takes is two words for me to make you do whatever I want. And so when I told you to kill Wallace, you did so without hesitation." He grabbed something from his belt and threw it at the wall behind Dick, and the blade wedged in it. Dick could barely pick his head up to look at it, but his eyes widened when he saw one of his weapons covered in blood.

"No," he breathed, dragging himself over to where it was. That couldn't be right. This had to be some sort of trick to make him join Deathstroke, that was the only logical explanation.

"Still think you have a place in the League, boy? Do you believe that they will accept you after everything you've done? Not only have you betrayed them by giving me all of their secrets, but you also took the life of one of their precious children." Dick bowed his head, not wanting the mercenary to see the tears streaming down his face. He killed Wally, one of the only people who got to know him outside of costume. Wally was the one he went to when he was on the verge of a panic attack, the one who kept him sane. Wally was dead... and it was because of him.

The energetic speedster had trusted him, befriended him even, and what did Dick do? He killed him. One of the only people who bothered to even talk to him was slayed by his hand. He was a murderer... And even if the League could see past that, Dick definitely couldn't. His hands were stained with someone else's blood, someone who he thought of as a brother. There was no place for him in a world of heroes.

But that didn't mean that his place was with the villains.

Dick Grayson was dead, and he used his name while committing crimes. But he refused to dishonor the name any further by staying on the path of evil. Project R would fix his mistakes, help the League, and when everything was all over...

Richard Grayson would die a second time.

"Even if I don't have a place in the League, I'd rather die than follow you blindly." He gave him the strongest glare he could muster, which wasn't saying much considering how he was too weak to stand. "I refuse to do anything bad ever again. And nothing you do or say will make me join you."

There was a period of tense silence as Deathstroke stood across the room, glares being exchanged from both sides. Eventually, the clang of footsteps filled the room as the assassin strode over to the fallen child, and Dick couldn't help but tremble as he approached. He was _so_ dead, but that didn't matter. If he could survive whatever punishment Deathstroke threw at him and found a way to escape, then he could fix everything. And that's all that mattered. "...Then my only option is plan B." He roughly picked Dick up by the collar of his uniform and transferred him back over to the medical slab, pinning him down and wrapping the cuffs around his wrists and ankles once again. "Have you ever been brainwashed, Renegade?" Deathstroke asked nonchalantly, lifting up his head to tie a blindfold around his eyes. Dick squirmed where he laid, but wasn't able to do much besides irritate his wrists. "I don't think you have. You probably don't even know how it's done."

"You can't brainwash me," Dick snarled, wishing he could see what his captor was doing. He didn't know what he disliked more, not being able to see, or not knowing what was going to come next. But he would be damned if he gave up now. "I don't care what you do to me, I'll never obey you."

He heard nothing for a while, but then a sudden charge of electricity shot through his limbs. And this was a lot stronger than what Parasite had used. Arching his back, but unable to move like his body instinctively wanted to, Dick screamed. But instead of turning the shock feature off after a few seconds like he thought he would, Deathstroke let it be. After what felt like hours of excruciating pain, Dick began to thrash around in his bonds, digging the skin of his wrists into the cuffs hard enough to nearly break them.

And then it stopped.

Dick panted, his rubbed raw from all of his shouting, and his mouth was painfully dry. His body still shook uncontrollably even after the shocks had stopped, but he was too weak to try to stop it. What the hell was Deathstroke doing?! Was he trying to kill him?! "Your name is Renegade," the mercenary said suddenly. "The Justice League abandoned you, and you now work for Deathstroke."

Dick's eyes widened fractionally when he realized what Deathstroke was doing. "No!" He shouted, pulling against his bonds fruitlessly. "You can't make me work for y- AH!" The last word turned into a shriek halfway through, for the electricity made a painful reappearance.

And just like the last time, it slowly came to a halt. "Your name is Renegade," the assassin repeated. "The Justice League abandoned-"

"NO!" Dick exclaimed through his heaving breaths. "They would never abandon me! Batman would never leave me to you!" Another wave of electricity made him cry out, but he attempted to silence it by biting his lower lip. But instead of making progress, he only bit hard enough to draw blood, and he _still_ ended up screaming.

"Your name is Renegade. The Justice League has abandoned you, and you now work for Deathstroke."

Dick spat out the blood collecting in his mouth. "Fuck you, Slade."

It went on and on...

"Your name is Renegade. The Justice League abandoned you, and you now work for Deathstroke... Your name is Renegade. The Justice League abandoned you, and you now work for Deathstroke... Your name is Renegade..."

Dick lost track of how many times he heard the same repeated statement, or how many times he was shocked. But he always mumbled a half-hearted argument in response, unwilling to allow himself to fall victim to this kind of brainwashing. If he let Deathstroke win, he would become a mindless puppet once again.

But even he had limits. After the twentieth shock or so, Deathstroke repeated his same phrase, but this time Dick found himself too tired to come up with an intelligent response. His eyelids were half closed, so close to unconsciousness yet unable to fall asleep because of the pain. Deathstroke paused for a moment, and after not receiving a snappy retort, he asked, "What's your name?"

"...Robin," Dick forced out between clenched teeth.

Only to scream once again.

xXx

It should've been impossible, a couple of _sidekicks_ taking down the entire Justice League. But... They learned how to accomplish the impossible a long time ago. Everything was possible in their eyes. Because why stress about what should and shouldn't be possible when they can _try_?

"Kid, you _really_ shouldn't be standing right now." Flash said worriedly, pushing him so that he fell against the couch. Wally smiled at him weakly, pushing the cowl off of his face in one move.

The best thing about defying all logic was being able to rebel against death itself, Wally decided. Yeah, the stitches in his side were a little sloppy, he barely managed to create the cure to the bio tech that infected the League without passing out, and he couldn't walk five feet without collapsing, but that was all irrelevant. Because the _Team_ , a group of 'amateurs,' managed to save all of their mentors from destruction. And almost everyone was safe now.

He couldn't remember half of what happened, but he was told that Artemis was able to resuscitate him after their battle with Deathstroke. What his pain addled mind had thought was a kiss was actually her forcing air into his lungs, apparently, though he honestly would've preferred either one. And even though it _shouldn't_ have been able to work, it did. He was brought back to life, and then his fast healing kicked in, keeping him away from immediate danger. During the time he was unconscious, the Team apparently discovered that the Justice League was under some sort of mind control, and they were forced to retreat and find Red Arrow, who told them everything. Wally wasn't too sure about the details (they didn't have enough time to explain everything to him), but he _did_ remember coming to when they were speaking with Roy.

He died, came back to life, and was consciously speaking in a matter of hours. That was a whole new record for how fast he could heal. Only his Uncle Barry could heal from a fatal injury that quickly!

Well, Wally wasn't fully healed yet, but that was besides the point.

"If my healing streak continues, I should be up and running in two hours," Wally murmured, sinking against the cushions. His green eyes swept over the Watchtower, a part of him super excited that he was inside, but another part of him was more focused on the exhausted faces of his teammates. Connor looked especially tired; his fight against Superman must have really pushed his limits. But since the Man of Steel was finally giving him some attention, Wally figured it was worth it.

"I still don't understand how that's possible. It took you weeks to heal a broken arm, and that's nothing compared to a stab wound..." Barry tapped his chin thoughtfully, and then grabbed one of the couch pillows in a blur, holding it in front of Wally's face. "Quick, vibrate your arm molecules through this pillow, then bring it back out again."

Wally was startled. "Er, Uncle Barry, you know I can't-"

"Just do it!" Flash shouted, and Wally nearly jumped out of his socks.

"Okay, I'll try it!" He rose his arm tiredly, and focused on moving it as fast as possible. He felt a familiar warmth of blood flow out of his nose, but he focused past it, feeling something _different_ in his arm. It was like he could feel every part of it, every living cell that contributed to it-

It felt like floodgates opened inside of him, and suddenly he could move his arm straight through the pillow. "Um!" Was his intelligent shout, and his eyes became as big as saucers as he stared at his blurry arm. Okay, that was so weird. Having an entire limb going through a solid object was not a feeling he would want to experience every day.

"Wally, you're doing it!" Miss Martian gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. The other teens let out similar exclamations, all shocked by his sudden ability.

But then all of a sudden, Wally's exhaustion was multiplied by ten, and he was barely able to withdraw his arm before he became to slow to keep vibrating. "Ugh..." his shoulder slumped, and his head fell backwards, unable to move a single inch more.

"...Your emotional response to what happened yesterday must have made your barriers break!" Barry sounded as excited as a five year old on Halloween. "Having your ass kicked actually saved us all!"

"That's not something to be happy about." Wally straightened his back at the sound of the voice, his green eyes landing on the dark form of Batman. "Kid Flash managed to achieve vibrating his molecules, but at what cost?" He growled. "This is not a time to celebrate. With Robin still-" he paused, swallowing. "-missing, we still have plenty of work to do." He turned to Flash. "The Team said Robin was under Deathstroke's control when they last saw him. I want you to alter one of the devices that Kid Flash created, and make it so that we can reverse the affects of Deathstroke's control."

Flash nodded grimly, all traces of his excitement disappearing. "On it," he announced, and was gone in a red blur.

Batman turned to Superman next. "When you have your strength back, I need you to fly around as much as possible and keep an ear out for anything suspicious. If you see or hear _anything_ relating to Robin, alert the League before attempting any kind of rescue mission. For all we know, Deathstroke has Kryptonite."

Superman nodded. "I'll be able to do a sweep over Metropolis and Gotham City right now, but everywhere else will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm pushing my limits as it is." He smiled down at Superboy one last time before jogging over to the Zeta Tubes, which announced his departure.

"I will meditate and keep my mind open for any signs of Robin," Martian Manhunter suggested. "I have entered his mind multiple times, and I would be able to recognize his brain waves from afar. Though it is unlikely that I will find him soon, I will do my best."

Batman nodded in consent. "Like Superman, you will need to alert the rest of the League if you find anything." He turned to look at Black Canary. "...He'll need you when he gets back," he said quietly, but the meaning of his words rang loud and clear. Wally averted his eyes; who knew what kind of mental state Dick would be in when they finally found him?

"And I'll be here for him," the blonde responded softly, and moved towards him to put a hand on his arm. "But you will have to be there for him too."

"...Arrow," Batman pulled away from her and fixed his gaze on Oliver. "I need you to ask around in Star City, see if anyone knows about the current whereabouts of Deathstroke. Your city is where he used to have most of his influence, and I don't doubt that some of his past allies still work with him now. Find out what you can."

"Sure thing..." Green Arrow had a stern frown on his face, an expression foreign to him. Sometimes Wally forgot about the history he and Deathstroke had. If anyone could relate to Dick when it came to the mercenary, it would definitely be him.

"The rest of you will be looking for any traces of the Light. Not only do they need to face justice for what they've done, but they might know where Robin is. They won't get away with kidnapping him, not this time." His teeth clenched together. "You're all dismissed."

The Leaguers began to file out of the Watchtower, bodies battered but their wills and determination unaffected. Wally watched them disappear through the Zeta Tubes one by one, until the Team and Batman were the only ones remaining. "What do you want us to do?" It was Kaldur who spoke, though he sounded hesitant. Like Wally, he was probably afraid of being told to stay out of it, treated like kids once again.

But Batman never failed to surprise them. "For starters, treat any and all wounds you have. After that, Miss Martian, Artemis, and Aqualad can fly in the bioship to investigate a couple of locations that I think Deathstroke could be hiding in. It's all in the Watchtower databases, which each of you now have access to." Wally's mouth fell open; they had clearance to view _all_ of the League's files now?! "Superboy, Zatanna, and Rocket will take the Super Cycle to another list of locations. The same rules apply; contact us if you find anything. We're giving you more freedom, don't mess it up." His eyes narrowed. "This isn't about proving yourselves, it's about finding a missing teammate. Mess this up, and this becomes a matter of life or death. Understand?"

Kaldur shared glances with the rest of his teammates, and then looked back at Batman, his eyes filled with the same determination that the Leaguers wore. "We understand. Do not worry, Batman. We will do everything in our power to find Robin."

"And we _will_ find him," Superboy added. "Maybe not one of us, but _someone_ will find Robin. If we all work together, we can find him."

"...I don't doubt that." Batman turned away. "You are dismissed." The Team nodded and began to move towards med-bay, intending to follow every order they were given. Wally frowned after them, before turning his full attention to the Dark Knight.

"And what about me? After I'm healed up, I mean?" He shifted his weight. "He's my best friend, I have to do something."

"You're going to sit here until you are healed, and then you and I will be doing our own search." Batman moved towards a distant door, ignoring the baffled and awed look Kid wore. "In the meantime, I'll be trying to locate his signal."

"His signal?" Wally repeated, confused.

"I noticed that his computer chip lets out specific radio waves, which is what I assume allows him to hack into electronics and tear them apart from the inside out. As long as Deathstroke didn't alter the signal in any way, I might be able to locate them using it." Wally caught sight of a deadly glare before Batman exited the room. "And when we find them, Deathstroke will pay."

Wally could only gape after him; Bruce was actually letting him work with him?! The only person Batman ever invited to work with him was Robin, and before that he was a total lone wolf. The rest of the Team was going to be so jealous when they found out what he got to do!

But still, Batman was right. This wasn't a time to celebrate, or feel excitement. Dick was still being held against his will in an unknown location, probably scared half to death and in unknown condition. Deathstroke had mentioned something about punishing him during their last battle, and Wally shivered at the thought of what kind of cruel punishment the evil man had in mind. What was he doing to him right now, while Wally was sitting on his ass and complaining about a little cut? Would Deathstroke torture him? Would he keep him in his mindless-slave state? Would he lock him up in a cage forever, making him go back to being a test subject all over again?

Bile rose in his throat as he considered every scenario Dick could possibly be going through. Whatever happened, it would be a miracle if his best friend came back in one piece, totally sane and unchanged. But that was highly unlikely, and Wally didn't dare allow himself to hope for that.

The only possible outcome of this would be a broken Dick Grayson, and he knew it.

"Dude... Wherever you are, we're coming. We won't let you suffer for another five years, not this time."

xXx

 **AN: *sigh* Unfortunately, I didn't actually kill Wally. He's alive, breathing, and will be up and running very soon. This is only unfortunate because I** ** _really_** **wanted to spite everyone who was demanding for me to bring him back. Because honestly, I have seen a couple of really annoying reviews about this, and all I wanted to do was keep him dead just to get on their nerves. But** ** _that_** **would have ruined the plot, so I refrained from throwing a tantrum.**

 **One last thing: I apologize for skipping the fight scene between the League and the Team, but it seriously wasn't going to change much. The only difference was how Superman, Batman, and Flash were taken down, and there wasn't anything too special about those changes that would make me want to add the** ** _entire_** **fight in to see. Maybe I'll add it in when I publish the rewrite.**

 **Well, that's it for now! Thank you all (well, most of you) for your comments! I hope to see you next chapter!**


	26. Eye for an Eye

**AN: I'm sorry that this hasn't been updated sooner, but I had a few personal problems holding me back, as well as the writer's block that always gets to me when I write this story. I am here now though, so please enjoy this instalment!**

xXx

If one wasn't familiar with the massive emotional walls Batman built around himself, they would marvel at how calm he was in the situation he was in. While the boy he thought of as his child was at the enemy's mercy, and had been for over a day, Batman kept up the emotionless mask he was famous for donning. But those who _knew_ him saw the faint downward turn of his mouth and the persistent twitch in his hand that acted as a sign that he was distressed. Hell, he was mentally ripping out his hair as the hours his protege was missing continued to add up.

The holographic screen in front of him showed no progress in it's task, and the bold letters of "SEARCHING" began to drive him mad. He needed someone, anyone, to find his missing partner. The image of his grinning ward was constantly surfacing to the forefront of his mind, and that only added onto the stress hanging over his shoulders. What was Dick experiencing right now, as his guardian was sitting on his ass and not doing anything? What kind of hell was Deathstroke putting him through? Would history repeat itself again? Would Dick suffer another five years at the enemy's mercy, driven to amnesia by the torture he went through?

The eye lenses of his cowl narrowed as his thoughts continued to spiral downwards, but that was the only sign of his distress. The signal that Dick's chip set off was not being picked up by the Watchtower's systems, and he had been searching for a little over a day now. It was becoming painfully obvious that there was something wrong; perhaps Deathstroke found a way to mess with the radio waves? Or had found a way to dampen them? If it was the latter, Batman would eventually be able to locate them, but if it was the former...

He would never find Dick.

That was what he feared the most, that the boy he spent so long protecting would never be seen again. Even if the League does succeed in finding him, the amount of time he had spent with his worst enemy ensured that he would come back as a different person. Batman could only hope that the majority of the time Dick had been gone was spent in the mindless state that he had been when he fought the League. That would be the only way for things to return to normal. But the chances of that being the case was slim, for Deathstroke was the kind of man that would want his captives to suffer. So in conclusion, Robin, as they knew him, was definitely gone. But that didn't mean they would give up on him. No, they would have to find him before there was nothing left of his former self to savage.

"Batman..." Wally's voice carried to him from across the room, and Bruce didn't bother to turn around to face him. It was hard for him to interact with someone that his adopted son had almost murdered, and the redhead was aware of it. The two of them shared almost no words after Batman told him what they would be working on, but Wally checked on his progress frequently. "Bruce, my leg is completely healed. When am I going to start doing something productive?"

"As soon as either someone in the League or the Team finds Robin, or after the Watchtower picks up his chip's signal," Batman told him gruffly. "Until then, rest. You and I will need to be at our best when we finally face Deathstroke."

"...We will find him, Bruce," Wally said loudly, voice unwavering. "It might not look like it, but we will. I know it."

And all of a sudden, Wally was added to the list of people that could see through his facade. Hmph. "I am aware, West, but thank you." To be honest, he was slightly embarrassed that a teenager felt the need to bring him comfort, but the gesture was kind nonetheless. "Five years ago, I lost Dick Grayson the first time. The other Leaguers told me to give up, because it seemed as though he was long gone, and I did. Because of our actions, Dick spent those five years on his own, with no recollection of who he was, and no hope of escape. I'm not doing that to him again. The League be damned, I'm not giving up on him a second time."

 _"How sweet,"_ A somewhat familiar voice teased and suddenly, Batman's holographic screen was taken over by the image of a man with an orange and black mask. _"For the coldest man on Earth, it's fairly easy to get under your skin."_

"Deathstroke," Wally gasped, and in a split second, he was at Batman's side and glaring at the mercenary. "Where is Robin?!"

 _"West,"_ Deathstroke greeted in stride. _"I see you're alive and breathing, how fortunate for you. But as it is, my apprentice was given specific orders to kill you."_ A sigh. _"More punishments are in order."_

A shiver ran down Bruce's spine. _More_ punishments? How many did Dick go through already? No, he would not let his protege suffer any longer if he could help it. "Answer the question, Deathstroke. Where is Robin?!"

The man shrugged. _"He's around..."_ He took a step to the side so that the two of them could see the medical table behind him. Bruce could feel the air being sucked out of the room as he and Wally caught sight of the limp figure laid across the table- Dick.

The boy's wrists and ankles were cuffed to the table, and dried blood was splattered around the areas of his skin that met the restraints; he must have struggled hard enough to rub his skin raw. A black blindfold was tied around his eyes, and a couple of ear buds were stuck in his ears. The thing that truly caught Batman's attention was how pale he was, and the shallow breaths he let out. He was alive, which was a miracle of itself, but how hurt was he? From the lack of injuries, Bruce could almost believe that he wasn't harmed, but that couldn't be the case. Deathstroke must have done something, but what?

"Robin!" Wally called out, moving forward for a fraction of a second before remembering that he couldn't reach him. Fuming, the redhead could only stare at his motionless best friend. "Rob?"

Deathstroke scoffed. _"He can't hear you, idiot. I didn't want him to overhear this call. I've been working hard to sway him to my side, and it wouldn't be beneficial to my cause if he heard or saw either of you. Brainwashing is fickle that way."_

"Brainwashing?!" Batman couldn't help but exclaim. "What have you done to him?!" He felt the last of his patience dwindle away in an instant, and now his parental instincts were screaming for blood.

 _"Behavior control,"_ Deathstroke said simply, holding up a remote control and ghosting his thumb over a suspicious looking red button. _"Care for a demonstration?"_ He eased his thumb onto the button without waiting for a reply, and Dick jolted upwards at once, a loud cry slicing through the room. The boy continued to scream and thrash around in his bonds, and managed to open the small wounds he created on his wrists and ankles. Batman could _feel_ the scream being permanently recorded inside his own brain. Even if he was able to save Dick, that blood curdling shriek would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Stop!" He shouted after a minute went by without a single pause in Dick's pain. "Deathstroke, stop it now! What do you want?!" Besides him, Wally's face became a deadly shade of green, falling silent due to the effort of keeping the contents of his stomach down.

The mercenary chuckled at their sickened expressions but relented, and pressed the button once again to deactivate the shock feature. Dick immediately went still on the bed, and started to mumble something that sounded like 'my name is Robin' before he returned to his semi conscious state once again. Deathstroke seemed unconcerned with whatever it is what he had said, and Batman had a suspicion that he heard it often.

 _"What do I want? I want a loyal apprentice, and the only suitable candidate is Renegade. Since he belongs to me, forcing him to work with me wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for you Justice Leaguers. If I manage to successfully brainwash Renegade, an encounter with you will hinder my progress."_ Deathstroke held up a small blade, and Batman felt his apprehension grow. _"If you do not cease your searches, I will have to perform more painful procedures on Renegade, and the more I hear about you sniffing around, the more damage I'll do to him."_ Deathstroke walked away from the camera, and towards Robin, holding the knife in plain sight. Once he was at the teen's side, he held the tip of the blade above Dick's face, and Bruce felt his heart hammer in his chest as he wondered what the assassin was planning.

"Deathstroke, don't-" he started, the next part of his sentence died in his throat as the knife was suddenly plunged down.

A waterfall of blood streamed down Dick's face, and an ear splintering scream shook Bruce to the core. Next to him, Wally turned away from the screen and threw up everything he had eaten throughout the day, but the sounds of his retching were lost by the pained shouts of the now one-eyed boy writhing on the medical table.

 _"An eye for an eye, detective,"_ Deathstroke murmured, ignoring the flood of blood and the screams that his captive produced. Not batting an eye at the damage he caused, the mercenary simply yanked the blade out of Dick's eye socket and held it up to his face. Batman was more focused on the now fatally injured teen that became limp once again, the loss of blood causing him to fall unconscious within seconds. _"Continue your search, and that isn't all that I will do to your precious sidekick."_

"...Liar," Wally mumbled, surfacing once more. Bruce would have normally been disgusted by the puddle of vomit next to his shows, or the dribble of throw up that splattered on Wally's front, but he couldn't find it in himself to focus on anything besides the bloody eye socket of his ward. But Wally already got a grip on himself, or so it seemed. "What more can you do to him without killing him?! If you keep this up, he won't be of use to you, right? All you're doing is trying to trick us into abandoning Robin, but it won't work!"

 _"I am capable of hurting Renegade without killing him, or permanently making him incapable of performing my tasks. I'm certain you will not wish to challenge my word, West,"_ There was a pause. _"I believe my next punishment will be easy to carry out; Richard is a pretty little thing, wouldn't you think?"_ He chuckled. _"Continue your search, and I won't hesitate to take advantage of that."_

Those words created a ball of dread in Bruce's stomach, but it was surrounded by a burning fire of hatred and fury. "Lay a single finger on him, and I'll..." He struggled to come up with a suitable threat, but found that was unable to. If Deathstroke touched Dick like he implied, there was no way to describe how angry he would be. To say that there would be hell to pay would just be the tip of the iceberg.

 _"I sense an empty threat approaching, and I don't have time to listen to it. I need to address Renegade's wounds or he will likely bleed to death. We wouldn't want that, would we Wayne?"_ A huff of laughter followed his sentence and before either Bruce or Wally could respond, the screen went back to its original state of "SEARCHING."

But wait... Why did the holo computer have a new location notification at the bottom of the screen? Deathstroke wasn't stupid enough to let someone trace the call back to him. Unless...

"No... No, no, no!".Wally grabbed a handful of his hair. "Now we have no way of finding Dick! If we try to do anything, Deathstroke will-" He swallowed thickly. "- _hurt_ him. Rob's probably already losing his mind, and now he doesn't have one of his eyes, and-"

"Dick will be fine," Bruce said briskly, forcing his voice to remain level as he exited out of the searching screen and began to start the process of contacting other Leaguers.

"Fine?!" Wally spluttered, incredulous. " _Fine_?! Dick lost a fucking _eye_ , Bruce! And Deathstroke just threatened to..." His face became green again. "What can we possibly do in this situation?! We're completely helpless!"

Bruce continued to type, doing his best to distance what he had just witnessed from his mind. Instead, the detective side of him focused on what Dick had been doing during the duration of the conversation. "We have a better option than searching for them blindly, which was what caught Deathstroke's attention in the first place. Dick must have been able to sense that his captor was using a communication device, because he connected himself to it and was able to hack into it to send us their location. He did this _after_ he lost his eye, which means he had enough strength to fake unconsciousness. Dick isn't broken, far from it."

Wally's eyes widened, the shock and disgust still present in his gaze, but now there was a glimmer of hope. "We can save him," he whispered, a smile gracing his face for the first time in hours. "We can save Dick!"

Batman wanted to return the smile, but found that he was incapable of doing so. Even with the glimmer of hope in the situation, he was still weighed down by the horrors he had just witnessed. But still, Wally would not be able to handle acknowledging what had just happened, and Bruce had to admit that he had no desire to either. So his only solution was to remain in denial, to shove that scene to the darkest corner of his mind.

That being said, Batman nodded at the eager speedster. "We will find him, and Deathstroke will pay for what he has done."

Neither of them brought up what Deathstroke had done, or what he had threatened to do, during the video calls with the other Leaguers.

xXx

 **AN: Yeah, that was it. I apologize for the shortness, but I'm having a lot of issues right now and it's becoming more difficult to keep up my usual writing style. Quite a few of you have been very supportive during these past couple of weeks, and I could never be more grateful, but I'm going to have to ask that you continue to be patient with me.**

 **Okay, one more thing: Do any of you think that I should change the rating of this book? I didn't go into too much detail about what Dick went through, but I did imply some dark stuff. I'm not good at determining what kind of rating goes with what story, so a little advice would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Well, that's it for this chapter. See you next time!**


	27. The Alternative

**AN: Hello everyone, remember me? Probably not, because I almost never update. :D**

 **Enjoy this chapter anyways.**

 **(Warning: this chapter contains violence, implied intentions of rape, and probably your unnecessary tears.)**

xXx

When Robin slowly drifted back into consciousness, his entire body felt fuzzy. It was like someone took his bones out of his body and replaced them with lead; he didn't think he would be able to raise a single arm in his current state. He must have been drugged, he realized when he opened his eyes and found that he couldn't focus on a single thing. Well, eye.

What was covering his other eye?

"I see you're awake," a deep voice commented from above him, and he was able to make out a blurry mass of orange and black. Immediately, Robin felt a massive spike of fear and he went to tug at his restraints, only to find that there was nothing preventing him from moving.

"Wha's going on?" Robin garbled out, struggling to find the strength to sit up. He refused to take his eyes off of the man above him, afraid of what would happen if he did. "What... did you... do to me?"

The masked man put a hand on his shoulder, ignoring his flinch. "You were stabbed in battle, apprentice. I had to stitch up your wounds. I'm afraid I also had to dose you with morphine, or else you would have experienced a world of pain. It should be wearing off now."

Apprentice? That sounded... wrong. Robin did not like that term. "I don' understand," he murmured, confused by his apprehensive feelings. The drugs he was under the influence of were clouding his memories, but his instincts told him that this man was not to be trusted.

"You must be feeling confused; you did hit your head after all." The man finally withdrew his arm, much to his relief. "Do you remember anything, anything at all? Your name, perhaps?"

 _"Your name is Renegade..."_

 _"My name is Robin!"_

Robin stiffened, his memories slowly returning to him. He remembered the electricity, and the excruciating pain of losing one of his eyes. "Please don't..." he whispered, his eye falling shut again in anguish. "Slade, please..." he knew what would happen to him if he didn't say what Deathstroke wanted to hear, but he didn't want to obey him. Help was on the way by now, couldn't he stay strong for a few more hours?

"What's your name?" Deathstroke repeated, sounding impatient this time.

Tears burned Robin's one eye, and he clutched his bedsheets loosely as he forced himself to answer with, "My name is Robin..."

"Is that so?" Deathstroke's voice lowered dangerously, and Robin didn't dare to reply. He couldn't trust him to not panic and give in to what Deathstroke wanted him to do. "Very well. I think you need a permanent reminder of who you truly are, _Renegade_." Much to his discomfort, Slade ruffled his hair before leaving the room, and Robin's heart rate picked up from alarm. What was he planning?

He grunted as he tried to bring himself into a sitting position, but both the effects of the morphine in his system and his already weak limbs prevented him from being able to move much. All he could do was lay there and wait for his captor to return and commence whatever sick plan he had to torture him further.

 _"Batman and the others are on their way..."_ he reminded himself to wipe away his despair. _"No matter what Slade does to me, I can handle it knowing that I'll be saved soon. I just have to hold on..."_

But then, doubt clouded his mind. What if the Justice League was livid with him for killing Wally? Would they even want to rescue him after all of the grief they caused them? Sure, Slade called the JLA for some reason but that didn't mean any of them wanted to relieve him from his misery. In fact, Slade could have easily fooled them into believing that he willingly joined them. If he did that, no one would bother trying to save him.

Was he waiting for a hero that would never arrive?

He didn't have much time to consider it, because Deathstroke soon returned with what looked to be a long rod in his hand. "Do you know how ranchers mark their cattle so that everyone knows where they belong?" He asked, and Robin suddenly realized what that rod was; it was a branding iron. Slade chuckled at his terrified expression and held the bottom of it up the burning hot S-shaped symbol for him to see.

"S-Slade, don't," Robin pleaded, shaking uncontrollably as Slade continued to approach, ignoring his weak protests. "Please!" He shouted, wishing he could do something to prevent this from happening, but his limbs still refused to cooperate. He could only watch in mute terror as Slade sat him up and began to yank his shirt off.

No one was saving him from this pain, were they...

Slade threw his shirt onto the floor carelessly, and let his body roughly fall back onto the medical bed. "Pets need discipline in order to learn their place, and they need marks of ownership so they can never forget who they belong to." His one eye glinted maliciously. "I could always do something simple like collar you, but I believe this will have more of a permanent affect." And with that, Deathstroke rose the brand above his captive's chest. Robin squeezed his eye shut as he braced for impact...

But his feeble attempt to dampen the pain had no affect; seconds later his eye was open again, and he was screaming due to a brand new form of pain. The branding iron seared into his skin, and his entire body felt the white hot burning sensation being pressed against his chest. Even without his full strength, Robin was able to thrash around and arch his back, though neither of those actions compelled Slade to remove the source of his pain. It felt like a millennia passed before the mercenary finally ended his misery and removed the iron from his blistering skin. Even after the rod had been removed, waves of pain still sent spasms throughout his body, but his screams were reduced to gasping sobs.

He had just been branded by his worst enemy, marked as though he was nothing more than Deathstroke's belonging, or pet. This was too much for him to shoulder- this wasn't a wound that would ever heal, Robin was permanently branded with insignia of his... of his...

His Master.

"Now tell me, apprentice... What is your name?" Deathstroke asked lowly, roughly grabbing him by the chin so that he was forced to look him in the eye.

Robin shivered violently; even with the mask covering Deathstroke's expression, he could tell that there was nothing but malice in his gaze. If Robin defied him again, his punishment would only be worse than the last, and he wasn't sure his already fragile mental state could handle it. Besides, he must have sent a message to the Justice League at least four hours ago. If they were coming, they would have shown up already. "...My name is Rene-"

"Deathstroke!" Lex Luthor suddenly sprinted into the room, looking disheveled since the first time Robin has ever seem him. "There's an emergency, we have to evacu-" a loud crash shook the ground slightly, and the movement gave Robin a slightly nauseous feeling. What was happening, was there an earthquake?

Deathstroke turned to the bald man, but one of his hands pinned Robin's shoulder to the bed so that there was no room for escape. "What is it, Luthor?"

"The Justice League is attacking!" Lex hissed, glaring at the boy almost hidden behind the assassin. "And your little pet was the one that caught their attention, I'm sure. The Light is not pleased by this, Slade. Do you know how angry Vandal is?!"

Surprisingly, Slade did not seem concerned by either issues. Instead of reacting badly, he simply chuckled at the news. "Ah, the League didn't heed my warning..." Deathstroke turned around to face Robin, who froze at the way he stood. Something about Slade's posture reminded him of a predator stalking its prey, and seeing his worst enemy in that way sent a jolt of fear down his spine. Why did he have a sudden desire to completely cower away?

"That can wait until we leave!" Lex exclaimed. "Do you think you have the time to defile your apprentice before the League arrives?"

Something caught in Robin's throat as he processed the string of words, mainly the word _defile_. D-Did he just imply that Slade wanted to do _that_ with him?! But why?! Did that mean that if they escaped before the Justice League could catch them, that would be his fate?!

No...Being Slade's loyal apprentice was one thing, but there was no way that he would allow this to happen. "Batman!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and was immediately dealt a blow to his shoulder.

"Do not show disobedience now, Renegade," Deathstroke hissed, grabbing him by the top of his hair and pulling his head until he received a cry of pain. "Keep it up and the punishment you will receive will _not_ be a gentle one."

Another shiver travelled down Robin's spine, but rebelling against Deathstroke was the only way he knew would buy him some time. And while his plan was sure to fail in the end, and he would suffer a great deal more as a consequence, he would have at least tried. "Help!" He shrieked, weakly pushing himself off of the other side of the bed, and he ended up as a heap on the floor. "Somebody help me!"

"Renegade!" Slade barked, circling around the bed to tower over his shivering form. "You insolent brat, you're in for the worst pain imaginable." He grabbed him by his throat and hauled him up to his feet. Robin made a choked noise of protest and swiveled his eyes over to the door, where Luthor had disappeared from. He must have decided that Slade wasn't worth waiting for.

Well, Luthor wouldn't be caught, but Slade definitely could be. "Deathstroke is in-" his shout was cancelled out by a cry of alarm when Deathstroke suddenly picked him up and tossed him over one of his shoulders. "Batman! Please!"

"Falling Grayson," Slade hissed in his ear, and he immediately felt his body go limb from unconsciousness.

xXx

"Where. Is. Robin?!" Batman roared, glaring Ra's Al Ghul down while Superman held the villain in place.

"You simply have to ask nicely, detective," the man said softly, not at all looking concerned over the fact that he had been captured. "I have no desire to keep any secrets from an old friend such as you. Robin is with Deathstroke down that corridor-" he nodded at a nearby hallway. "All the way down to the final door. But be warned, he may not be in the best condition when you find him."

"I'll take my chances," the Dark Knight growled, nodding at Superman to release him.

After Batman had figured out the location of the Light, it was only a matter of regrouping and then creating a small team of heroes that would raid the Light's headquarters and rescue the teen they were holding captive. This team consisted of Batman, Superman, Kid Flash, Black Canary, and Aqualad. Canary suggested that the team should mostly consist of people that Dick was more familiar with, just in case he wasn't in a great mental state when they found him. When they had arrived, most of the Light had already scattered, the only apparent exception being Ra's Al Ghul.

"I do hear more voices in that direction," Superman muttered, nodding as he shoved Ra's away from him. Aqualad, stay here and make sure he doesn't escape.

"The rest of us need to stick together so that we can face Deathstroke." Batman broke away from the group and led the way down the indicated passageway, barely listening for the sound of the rest of their footsteps behind him. This was it, they would finally bring Robin back home.

Taking in a deep breath, Bruce pulled a batarang out of his utility belt with one hand, and used the other to grab the door knob-

Before he could act, the door swung open and Deathstroke bolted out of the room, a gun aimed at Batman in his hand. Bruce barely managed to jump backwards as the sound of the firearm firing rang in his ears, and a bullet was embedded into the wall where he once stood. "Superma-" Before he could finish, Dick appeared in the doorway, face slack and eyes clouded.

He looked _terrible_. Even though he had only been in the mercy of his enemy for a couple of days, Dick was noticeably thinner, and paler too. On top of that, bruises covered a great majority of his skin, his wrists were scabbed due to how often he rubbed them against his restraints, and there was a fresh S-shaped mark burned into his skin. Besides that, a white pressure pad was attached to his damaged eye, looking all too much like an eye patch. Seeing Dick like this, scarred and mindless, it stirred a primal rage deep within him.

"Dick, are you in there?" He half whispered, somewhat hearing the shouts of Deathstroke as he was being brought down by the rest of the team. But he was focused on the mind controlled boy in front of him, the one who stared right at him but certainly did not see him. "Dick, it's me... It's Bruce." He slowly grabbed his cowl by the ears and flipped it off of his head so that his face was visible. "Please, snap out of it. I came here to rescue you, with Kid Flash and the League. You're safe now."

"Renegade, attack!" Slade suddenly ordered as Superman held him in his death grip. "Get this buffoon off of me at once!"

Before Dick could move, Batman lunged forward and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, preventing him from even attempting to carry out his orders. "Dick, listen to me! You have to fight this!" He shouted as his protege thrashed around in his grip. "You can't let Deathstroke turn into something you're not!"

"Enough!" Deathstroke snapped. "Apprentice, end him!"

Dick suddenly became very still, his eyes widening fractionally. "...Order received: kill Batman. Alternative programming activated." Before Batman could react, Dick flew out of his grip and rolled on the floor, revealing a dagger he carried in his hand. Bruce tensed, prepared to quickly disarm him and take him down the second he attacked.

But the attack never came.

Time seemed to slow down as Dick wrapped both of his hands around the dagger, and one quick movement later, a loud gasp echoed throughout the corridor as the blade was thrusted into Dick's abdomen. And then suddenly, the lights were on again; the mindless killing machine was replaced by Dick, who shakily pulled the dagger out of his stomach and let it fall into floor. "...Ouch," he whispered, his legs giving out from under him.

Bruce darted forward and caught him before he could fully hit the ground, eyes wide as he took in the bloody mess that was his ward. "What did you just do?!" He shouted, shaking him slightly. A small, shaky smile appeared on Dick's face before his eye fluttered closed with a pained groan.

"What happened?!" Kid Flash was suddenly at his side, pure and utter terror written across his face. "Why did he do that?!"

Superman spoke suddenly, "I used my x-ray vision to give him a quick look over, and it doesn't look like he tore through anything important. Still, we'll have to bring him to med-bay right away or else he'll bleed out- oof." Deathstroke used their brief period of distraction to break free from the Kryptonian, and glared at the fallen form of his former captive.

"Until next time, apprentice," he said lowly, and before anyone could make another lunge for him, he threw a smoke pellet below him which covered the area in a thick grey cloud.

"I'll get him!" Kid Flash and Superman said simultaneously, and they both raced into the smoke. Seconds later, a loud thud was heard and when the smoke cleared, Kid was sitting on the ground, rubbing his head while Superman remained standing with a confused expression. Besides the two of them, there was no one else to be seen.

"He escaped," Black Canary searched the area with a frustrated frown. "We have to find him immediately!"

"Canary and Superman will pursue Deathstroke. Rendez-vous with Aqualad before you begin your search. Kid Flash, you're with me." Batman began leaving the building without any other form of an explanation, but the others seemed to accept his orders for they filed out in their separate groups without raising any questions.

But as soon as Batman and Kid Flash came outside and into the hot desert sun, Wally had to be the one to change that. "Bruce, I can run him to the nearest Zeta Tube a lot faster than you could in the Batmobile. Let me carry him."

"Negative, we do not know where any of the Light members have gone to, and they might attack you if they see you. I cannot allow it." Bruce continued carrying his ward, but Wally ran into his path, giving him an agitated look.

"Bruce, I can handle it! If you don't trust me, he'll bleed out and die!" He snapped, and threw his hands out for Batman to hand Robin over to him. "Either you stop being an asshole and give me a chance, or Dick will die no matter what."

Bruce grit his teeth, but forced himself to think rationally. While he would rather keep Dick in his sight at all times to ensure that he would be safe, Wally was right. If Bruce brought him there himself, Dick would almost definitely die from the amount of blood he lost. "Take care of him," he said lowly, gently transferring Dick to Wally's waiting arms. "This is easily the most important mission of your life. Nothing is more important to me than his safety, do you understand?"

Wally nodded shortly. "I'll call you as soon as he's in Med-Bay," he assured. That was the only warning Batman received before Kid Flash disappeared in a blur of yellow, a gust of wind being the only sign that he was ever there in the first place.

Bruce looked up at the sky, holding his breath. What if Dick didn't make it? What if they were too late, and his death was already a certainty? Bruce had already lived through his 'death' once before, and he didn't think he had it in him to go through that again.

His comm went off about five minutes into his intense thoughts. "Yes?" He asked hurriedly, slamming his finger into the button that accepted the transmission.

 _"He's in Med-Bay."_

Never before would anyone see such a relieved expression on Batman's face.


	28. Chapter 28

The Watchtower was filled with an almost mournful silence as the Team, Batman, and Black Canary waited for news on the severely injured Boy Wonder. The children and Canary had seated themselves on the comfortable chairs just outside of Med-Bay, but Batman chose to pace the room instead. How could he sit and wait while his partner- his _son_ \- was being treated in the next room over, balancing on the line of life and death? How could he rest when the monster that did this to him in the first place was still free to continue developing plans to kidnap him again?

No, he couldn't rest. Not until he knew that his child was finally safe.

"They'll find Deathstroke, Bruce," Canary said softly, watching as he made another lap in front of the sofa. "We will constantly have someone searching for him until he is finally brought down."

"We weren't able to find him when he _first_ escaped, so how do you expect to find him now when he has been missing for hours?" Batman asked in a harsh tone, glaring in her direction. No, he wasn't angry with _her_ , but every second that Deathstroke remained hidden only added onto the frustration that had been building up since Dick's capture. They had to find that bastard, they had to make him pay for what he had done.

Because whenever he closed his eyes, all Bruce could see was the many horrifying wounds that Dick now had. His right eye was unsalvageable, the S-shaped burn on his chest would never completely fade away, and to top things off, Dick _stabbed_ himself. If that wasn't enough, there was also the mental scars that the boy surely had; he had been at the mercy of his most feared enemy for days. And Bruce didn't know everything that had happened between the two of them in the last few days. His main concern had been the threat Deathstroke had made when he contacted the Watchtower. If he had acted on that threat at any time...

"Batman," Martian Manhunter called, finally entering the room. All at once, the teenagers surged to their feet and stared at the man, waiting to hear the news. Batman found himself giving the martian his full attention as well, forcing his pulse to remain steady. "Robin will recover," he said slowly, and there was a collective sigh of relief. "But I was forced to restrain him."

"What? Why?" Batman demanded angrily.

"We do not yet know if his programming will take control over him again," J'onn said softly. "If it does, he will be at our throats the moment he awakens."

"We can't just strap him down, that's exactly what Deathstroke did! He'll panic if he wakes up like that," Wally argued, crossing his arms. "Can't we just surgically remove the computer chip from his head? No chip, no programming."

Manhunter shook his head. "I'm afraid it is not that simple. Robin's computer chip is attached to his brain, and any attempt at removing it could do more harm than good if we were to mess up at any point of the procedure."

Black Canary sighed. "J'onn is right, it would be too dangerous to remove that chip. We should only attempt to do so if it's absolutely necessary, like if we were unable to free Robin from his mind controlled state."

Wally frowned thoughtfully. "Robin didn't seem to be controlled when he, you know, tried to kill himself..." he swallowed and forcefully changed the subject. "I don't understand how Deathstroke is able to fully control him with that tiny thing, you know? I feel like there's something more to it."

"Perhaps the chip was placed in an area of the brain that influences Robin's actions," Kaldur suggested.

"But it also affects his memories... I don't know, something just doesn't sit right with me." Wally scratched the back of his head. "Or maybe spending so much time with Batman made his paranoia rub off on me," he joked.

No one cracked a smile.

"We'll look into it on a later date. What's important right now is that we keep him alive." Batman looked at Manhunter. "When do you estimate he'll wake up?"

"Tomorrow at the earliest," J'onn told him, smiling sincerely. "There is no need for worry, your protege is very strong. He will pull through this."

Bruce wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but he held his tongue. The Team didn't need to hear that Batman was worried that Robin would turn out to be suicidal. He _stabbed_ himself for crying out loud. What about that made Robin seem like he had a will to pull through? "I'm going to sit with him," Bruce decided out loud, thinking that it would be best if Dick wasn't alone when he woke up.

"Can I come with?" Wally suddenly blurted out, vibrating nervously. "I mean, he's my best friend and-"

"He doesn't need to be overwhelmed. I think it's best that I go alone," Bruce told him firmly, his cape fluttering around as he turned away and walked towards med-bay.

Before he left he heard Wally mumble, "But Rob's always whelmed..."

xXx (A few hours later) xXx

Bruce sighed as he regarded the unconscious form of his ward, watching the faint rise and fall of his chest as he slept. The bedsheets thrown over his body covered the stitched area of his stomach, but the pressure pad over his injured eye was still completely visible. Bruce sucked in a deep breath and reached over to ruffle his hair, feeling completely drained just by taking in his appearance. Why did this have to happen to _him_? From the moment Dick was liberated from Cadmus, he was never able to catch a break. It was problem after problem; the fear of accidentally betraying the Team, developing abilities that he shouldn't have had, falling into a depression after his teammates distanced themselves, and now this?

He didn't deserve any of this, damn it! He was just a kid that has been trying to improve his life and move on from the experiments he was forced to participate in. Couldn't the universe give him a break? Now that Dick had just went through his own personal hell and came back disfigured, Bruce could only predict that he would be seeing another period of depression.

No utility belts would be left laying around anymore.

Bruce let his mind wander, though his thoughts didn't stray too far away from his injured protege. He wondered, what lengths would Deathstroke go through to get his hands on Dick again? Bruce had no idea who the mercenary was under the mask, but would he use his civilian identity to his advantage? Bruce had only adopted Dick as his ward, which meant that anyone had the opportunity to fully adopt him, even Deathstroke. Maybe this would be a good time to finalize some things...

Suddenly, the heart rate monitor went nuts.

Bruce's head snapped up from where he was facing the floor, and his eyes widened as his gaze caught the terrorized blue eye of his ward. "Dick? You're not supposed to be-"

"My name is Robin!" He suddenly screamed, tugging against his restraints fruitlessly. His entire body was tensed up, his breathing quickening as though he was expecting some sort of attack. Bruce winced when he realized what Dick thought was going on; Wally was right, he automatically believed that he was with Deathstroke again.

"Dick, hey," Bruce leaned over and put a hand on his arm, not applying enough pressure to pin him to the bed, but just so that he was aware that he wasn't in a hostile environment. "It's okay, you're in the Watchtower. You're safe... No one here is going to hurt you."

Finally, Dick seemed to be able to recognize him. "Bruce...?" He blinked once, looking as though he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. He then took a look around the rest of the large room he was in, taking in the beige walls, the other gurneys, the medical equipment, and IV stuck in his arm. Eventually, he pulled at his restraints again, eyebrows furrowing together in frustration. "Why am I strapped down...?" He asked quickly, sounding younger and more fearful than Bruce had ever heard him. Did he think he would hurt him?

"That was a precaution. Here..." Bruce leaned over him and undid the straps circling his wrists. "We needed to make sure you were still... you." He grimaced at the thought of Dick returning to that mindless state, only obeying the command of the man he hated the most. "J'onn said you shouldn't be up until tomorrow. You should lay back down."

Dick stared at him, frowning as he brought a hand up to his injured eye. "...You couldn't fix it?" He asked, sounding almost defeated.

"No," Bruce admitted, keeping his voice as gentle as possible. "Sorry chum, but there wasn't anything we could savage. A stab wound like that won't heal." Dick lowered his head at this, and Bruce quickly put a hand on his shoulder, finding that he himself was comforted by the contact. "You won't have to look like him. We can find you a realistic glass eye, anything but an eye patch. Okay?"

"...Okay." Dick leaned against him, sighing deeply. "I guess I'll have to tell you about what happened while I was there, huh?"

"Not until you're ready," Bruce told him, and Dick nodded in acceptance. His few actions had seemingly exhausted him, and Bruce couldn't blame him. With all of the things that he had been through-

Wait.

"Dick, I actually have to ask you something now, it's important," he said, pulling away from the teen so that he could watch his reaction to his question. He blinked once, eyebrows scrunching together when he found that his ward was out like a light. Bruce sighed quietly, but allowed his head to fall onto his shoulder once again. He was not cruel enough to wake him just to force him to relive his horrors again. If he was tired, he could sleep.

But still... He had been expecting more of a reaction from Dick when he first woke up. He thought the teen would burst into tears the second he awakened, or hyperventilate when he thought he was still at the mercy of Deathstroke. His reaction had been surprisingly mild in comparison to how he had reacted to his past dealings with Deathstroke. It was almost like Dick was ignoring that the events had even happened...

That was it, Bruce realized with a hard blink. Dick was in shock, and was coping with what happened to him by going into denial. That was definitely not healthy. "I'm so sorry, Dick," he mumbled, closing his eyes tiredly. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe there was a chance that Dick was simply too emotionally exhausted to properly acknowledge what had happened to him. Bruce can't jump to any conclusions just yet. He would have to wait until Dick was fully aware of himself before making any diagnosis.

There was another thing that bugged him too... This was the second time that he heard Dick scream 'my name is Robin.' The first time had been during the video call with Deathstroke, and he had seemed to be reacting to the electric shock he had received at the time. But why shout his name like that? Why did his voice always sound so desperate when he said it, like he was using the name as some sort of mental rock?

Screaming one's name wasn't something they would do for no reason, and Bruce could easily deduce that Deathstroke had done something that made Dick cling to his hero identity. But why that name, and not his real one? It was painfully obvious that Deathstroke knew who Robin was under the mask, so it wouldn't make sense to take a precaution like that. Why Robin, and not Dick?

Maybe he was digging into it too much... but his instincts haven't failed him before. And right now, they were screaming that there was something significant about the name 'Robin.'


	29. Chapter 29

Dick stared outside of the giant glass window of the Watchtower, observing the blue orb of the Earth below him.

It had been four days since he had woken up in the infirmary and so far, nothing significant had happened. Dick's teammates had demanded to see him the second he woke up, but he had asked to have some time to himself for a little while. It was hard enough to wrap his head around everything that happened to him, and he didn't need the stress of interacting with his teammates on top of that. And without the chaos that they had brought along with them wherever they went, Dick's recovery remained uneventful. And for once, he appreciated the calmness and wasn't itching to get back into his costume again. In fact... He was beginning to believe that his super hero days were over.

He didn't tell Bruce that, but he had a feeling that the man already knew.

In the four days that Dick had spent recovering, the only eventful thing that happened was when he told Bruce that he was not the real Dick Grayson. He thought about telling him about the programming on top of that, but decided that he hurt the man enough without adding that to the load on his shoulders. So he left it at that.

Oddly enough, Bruce wasn't angry with him. He even told him that it didn't change the way he saw him, that Dick would always be his son. But despite those reassurances, Bruce immediately began to distance himself from his ward and started the search for the original Dick Grayson. Dick would have felt saddened by this if it wasn't for the number feeling in his chest that prevented him from experiencing any sort of emotion aside from tiredness. He just let Bruce do what he wanted... Who was he to stop him from finding his real ward?

And now... Now Dick was thinking about the future. He knew that he had no place in the Team anymore, not when he had technically killed Wally and had been secretly spying on the entire League for the last six months. That wasn't a problem; he didn't _want_ to be a hero anyways. The issue was...

Without a cape on his shoulders, what was he?

That was what had been troubling him the most. Not the nightmares that kept him up every night, the pitying looks he received from the few people who saw him, or the increasing feeling of loneliness. No, what truly bothered him was his lack of purpose. He wasn't Dick Grayson, nor was he Robin. Without a domino mask over his eyes, he still had no identity. Now that he wasn't a hero, he couldn't even return to a normal civilian life. Not with his mentor hunting down the original Dick Grayson. The truth was... Dick had no place on the Earth.

That was part of the reason why he was avoiding contact with everyone else. His friends would tell him that his life still mattered. Bruce and Alfred would tell him that he still had a place in their home, even if they were able to find the real Dick Grayson. But Dick didn't want them to say such empty words to him, he didn't want them to give him false hope. A damaged copy is nothing compared to the brilliant original.

And boy, was Dick damaged. Not only did he have too many scars and healing wounds to count, but he was mentally and emotionally damaged as well. After Deathstroke stripped him of his programming, Dick no longer felt the strong emotions that he once had. The bond he had created with his mentor was completely gone, and now whenever he saw Bruce, it felt like he was talking to a stranger all over again. When Alfred visited him with a tray of cookies, Dick could only stare at him. He had forgotten that Alfred even _existed_!

Dick quickly came to the conclusion that he couldn't feel. Well, no, that wasn't quite right. He was able to feel a small amount of emotion, but it felt like they were becoming weaker every day. How long would it take before he no longer felt anything at all? His friends, his family... they didn't deserve to deal with that, especially not since they would have the real Dick Grayson soon. Wouldn't it be easier for _everyone_ if he just left?

He continued to watch the Earth below him, sighing heavily. The scars on his wrist itched as he considered his options. It would be _so_ easy if he just finished what he had started so long ago... If he just killed himself and let the world continue on without him. Who would miss him? The only people who cared about him would be getting the real Grayson soon. So even if they felt saddened over his death, they would get over it soon.

But then again... Dick made a promise to Bruce. And even if his guardian was in a hurry to replace him with a better version of him, it didn't nullify the promise Dick had made to him. He couldn't hurt himself... He could at least do that for the man that he had nearly murdered. It would never be enough to make up for what he had done, but it was a start.

That didn't mean that he should continue to stick around, though. One thing was for sure: he had overstayed his welcome.

...

...

...

Even after he had left the Tower, the Earth continued to spin, unaffected by his decision.

xXx (About an hour later) xXx

Bruce stared at the note in his hands, mouth dry as he read it again for the third time in a row. The words on the piece of paper were barely able to register in his mind, he was too shocked by its suddenness to fully comprehend what it said.

 _"Dear Bruce,"_ it read. _"Guess you figured out that I was missing, huh? Don't worry about it, I'm fine. Seriously, I have every intention of keeping the promise that I have made to you, even if you are no longer as concerned for my well-being as you used to be... But it's okay. I get it. I didn't write this note to guilt trip you._

 _"Listen, there's something going on with me right now, and there's no way I'm going to let you guys get involved with it. I think running away was the smartest solution to it. Oh, and don't even think about trying to look for me either. I know how you are... and I know how to avoid you. But who knows, maybe we'll meet each other again? I kinda hope so... Even if I'm not who I thought I was, a part of me still considers myself to be your son. It's pretty selfish of me, right? Ha... Chances are, we never will see each other again, so don't worry about that either. All you have to concern yourself with is the real Dick Grayson now. I won't get in your way._

 _One last thing: if there is ever a time where we do meet again, but it's because of something Deathstroke has done to me... I would like you to remind Kaldur of his promise to me. Don't worry about what that is, he'll know when you bring it up._

 _Well, that's it. Darrell, Bruce._

 _-Dick? Robin? Whatever. You know who this is."_

After a few minutes of blankly staring at the paper, Bruce gently set the note on the chair that he had found it, his heart beating loudly in his chest. "No..." He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. "...I have to find him." The adoption papers he held in his other hand fell to the floor as he left the room to alert the rest of the Justice League.

But he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to find him. Dick was gone.


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: Hey everyone. You're probably a little surprised that I updated three times in a row, right? Well... truth is, these chapters have been published on Wattpad for a while now, I just never transferred them over to here. You probably want to know why, right? Truth is, I'm just lazy. And wow, that's such a shitty reason to keep you all waiting like that, but that's the truth. I guess I'm just a shitty person in general. I mean I could try to explain that my depression makes it hard for me to put any effort into anything, but I don't really think that's a good enough excuse. At least, not in my eyes. But please understand that I** ** _am_** **sorry.**

 **Even if you don't forgive me... please enjoy this short epilouge anyways.**

xXx

Dick wandered through the streets of Bludhaven, the hood of his raggedy jacket pulled over his head and hanging over his eyes. His stomach growled at him unhappily as he ignored the tempting smell of a nearby bakery, but he pushed away his hunger. He could last a few more days without food. Besides, he hated having to steal all of his meals. Committing crimes made his stomach twist up with guilt, no matter how big or small the crime was.

But now wasn't the time for those thoughts. Now wasn't the time for letting his 'morals' control his actions. In this world that he lived in, survival was all that mattered. He couldn't afford to care about anything else but making sure that he stayed alive.

Dick shook his head at himself and ducked into a nearby alley, his blue eyes flickering over the graffiti on the stone walls surrounding himself. One wall had a detailed picture of a middle finger... This city had some pretty lame criminals, huh?

At the end of the alley was what Dick had been calling his home for the past week: a sleeping bag he had stowed away in a hidden gap behind one of the grimy dumpsters. Home sweet home.

Dick crawled into his small hideaway and curled in on himself so that he had enough room to look at the newspapers that he managed to snag, all having something to do with the affairs of the Justice League and their sidekicks. Like always, he started with Gotham's paper, flipping through it until he found the latest update on the 'missing' Dick Grayson. He stared at the picture that the newspaper had provided, narrowing his eyes at the image of his doppelganger grinning as he stood next to Bruce Wayne. But he ignored his feelings of jealousy and frustration, choosing to read over the short article instead. From what he read, it was easy to tell that the search for Dick Grayson was still on, even though most children would have already been declared dead _ages_ ago.

Slade once asked him why he never confronted Bruce or the Justice League. Without the clone, there was no one stopping him from claiming his rightful place as one of the heroes in the Team. But the hero gig? That wasn't really his thing. In a world of kill or be killed, what was the point of saving people who were too weak to save themselves. In his opinion, the heroes should just let the weak links be eliminated from the gene pool.

And besides, it wasn't like the Justice League would just welcome him with open arms. They would want the other Dick Grayson, not him. So as soon as clone boy came back into the picture, the real one would be disregarded. Everyone liked to stick to what they were more familiar with, after all. Dick couldn't fault them for it. It wasn't like he made an effort to step out of his comfort zone and find a way to get himself off of the streets or to stop stealing things.

So being a hero wasn't going to work out for him either way. And that was fine with him. If anything, he would prefer the role of a villain anyways. But then again... He was far too lazy to come up with the elaborate plans that came with the villain job. So he was stuck somewhere in between. Would one call him an antihero? Heh... It didn't really matter to him.

All that mattered was his own survival.

But when he returned his gaze to the paper and saw another article say _"Barbara Gordon grieves over best friend,"_ Dick began to wonder if there could be something more to the life he led. Friends... He never had one of those...

But it was likely that he never would.

 **xXx**

 **AN: Okay, now the story is over. I'd apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but the epilogue was only meant to do two things:**

 **1\. Introduce the other Dick Grayson.**

 **2\. Confirm that there is more to the story. And no, I'm not talking about this book, because this is definitely the last chapter. But if this is the last chapter, and there's more to the story... Hm, I wonder what that could possibly mean. :}**

 **Before I kick you out, it's time for my speech. I did my best to shorten it down so that I don't bore anyone with this super long author's note, so here you go:**

 **Regardless of what I have said in the past, I really am proud of this story. For a lot of my readers, this book is what introduced you to my other stories. And honestly, I could say the same thing about myself. What do I mean by that? Well, this book is where I first developed my writing style. This is where I learned how much I love writing angst, and the first book that gave me a spotlight in the YJ community. And I mean that in a humble way. I never expected for so many people to know name. When I first started this book, I never imagined that it would end up being someone's favorite story, but it is.**

 **And I'm not just proud of how popular this book became, but it makes me so happy to look back at this and see just how far I've gone as an author. When I first started this book, I was a rookie with almost no writing skill at all. But now... Well, I'm not the best, but I definitely improved since the time I first published this. And I don't mean to make this seem like a bigger deal than it probably is, but seeing how far I've come with this story alone... man, it really opens my eyes to some things.**

 **I have one last thing to say: thank you. To whoever is reading this, I could not have come this far without you. Every view, comment, and vote that I have received on this story has brightened my days in ways that I could have never imagined. Before I started writing these stories, I was in such a dark place. I was not happy. I didn't have much of a will to live. But my stories, especially this one in particular, they have given me so many new friends that I can't imagine living without. And even though it gets a little irritating when people continuously demand for me to update, seeing people that love my work so much gives me enough energy to continue on this path that I'm on. So thank you, reader. I couldn't have done this without you.**

 **Well... Goodbye. I'd say see you next time, but there won't be a next time when it comes to this book. I do hope to see some of you on my other stories (I hinted at what I want to update next), but do what you will. All I ask is that you tell me what your final thoughts are of this story, if you have the time.**

 **Thank you all so much for your support.**

 **-Ari (the author)**


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